


Void

by makorragal312



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Needs a Hug, M/M, Mentions of Season 7, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Parent, Slow Burn, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Supportive Shiro (Voltron), Voltron s8, klance, voltron s6, voltron s7
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:26:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27156581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makorragal312/pseuds/makorragal312
Summary: The battle with Lotor might be over. But the war still continues. And in the midst of it all, Keith and Lance still have things to discuss, feelings to overcome, and revelations to confront.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Sorry, I'm new to this so forgive me if this sounds bad.
> 
> Okay. So, I just want to say that this story originally started out as a oneshot from 2018, but since people wanted me to expand on it given the last couple of seasons, I decided to make it into a series, which has been somewhat therapeutic given how Season 8 wrapped up.
> 
> This is pretty much just a fix-it fic of the last couple seasons (6-8) of Voltron where Klance is canon and Lance isn't forever alone. I'm gonna try and start posting chapters weekly until I catch up with the current one I just uploaded and then take it from there. So, I really hope you guys enjoy.:)

Honestly, Lance doesn't have a clue how long it's been since the events of their fight with Lotor. He knows it's been a couple of quintants, but he can't pin a specific number for the amount of time that's passed. As of now, he and the rest of Team Voltron, along with a few guest passengers such as Krolia, Romelle, and others were currently settled on a random planet in order for the lions to rest from their current expedition back to Earth. Despite his desperate need to go home and see his family again, pit stops like this were the perfect opportunity for him to calm his mind. As soon as they landed, he stretched his legs and walked to a nearby ledge, sitting on an opal-colored boulder and gazing at the planet's dark purple sky and breathing in it's cool and clean air, reminding him of home.

It's been half a varga since then when Lance decides to look back and check on the team, considering he had distanced himself as soon as they landed. Coran and Allura were next to the Blue Lion, currently feeding some berries to Kaltenecker...or at least trying to. Lance sent them a bittersweet smile, mainly towards Allura. They haven't really spoken since he was comforting her in the castle. As much as he hated the idea of her being with Lotor and as much as he wished to God that something would happen so that they would break up, he didn't wish this suffering on her. Finding out that the man she ended up falling for was responsible for the deaths of countless surviving Alteans from another living Altean and then having to fight him all at once. He was at least glad that he was there for her when she eventually broke down into his arms at the Castle. She just needed a friend, a title that the Cuban teen was slowly starting to come to grips with as his only title to her.

Right next to them were Matt and Romelle, whom were sitting on Blue's paw conversing. After Allura resurrected Shiro and started traveling towards Earth, Pidge was able to contact her brother and tell him their whereabouts as the latter was actually about to head to the Castle, which had recently vanished from existence sadly. After saying goodbye to his crew, the older Holt had flown from their base and told her he was on his way, leading them to quickly head back to the planet they were previously on. That was probably the first time Lance had seen the Green Paladin cry, watching her sob profusely as he gripped her brother telling him everything that happened as he stroked her hair and tried to soothe her sobs into sniffles while slowly beginning to shed tears himself. From what he could tell, Matt was telling some sort of technological joke that anyone would've cringed at but surprisingly Romelle was laughing genuinely. Even though they had just met, Lance could tell they would get along quite smoothly.

Lance turned his head to the left and saw Hunk and Pidge sitting with Krolia. The Galran was sitting on the Green Lion's paw, arms crossed with a small smile on her face while Hunk and Pidge were sitting in front of her on the ground, eyes wide with excitement and their mouths moving a thousands miles per minute, with Krolia giving an occasional response. When Lance looks at her closely, he can only stare in awe. The shape of her face, the shape of her eyes, her Galra markings. He could definitely see some of Keith in her. Yes, he did act sort of stupidly at the fact that this woman was actually Keith's mom, but he really was happy to know that Keith had found himself more family, especially considering that the only other person that Keith considered family was Shiro and he didn't know whether or not Keith's father was even in the picture. That being said, the tech duo were probably asking her questions about Keith and what he was like as a kid, but given the small amount of responses she actually gave about him and the occasional uncomfortable looks she gave, she probably left him when he was at least still a baby. Her face soon changed as they started asking her about her experience in the Blade. The Red Paladin felt a small pang in his chest, small bits of jealousy that he didn't want or need beginning to take over. Yes, he missed his family, but that was no excuse for him to start feeling upset that Keith was able to find his family. And as much as he hated to admit it, Keith leaving to join the Blades was probably a blessing in disguise. With a deep sigh, Lance closed his eyes and slowly turned his head and shifted it to the right. He took a few more shallow breaths before opening his eyes.

_How do we know you're the real Keith and not his bigger, cooler, grizzled older brother?_

_I don't have time for this, Lance!_

_Hey, everybody! Keith's back!_

He was further away from everyone else, sitting on the paw of the Black Lion. He was facing away from the group, looking at the sky and anything else that was in the distance and petting his space wolf. Lance couldn't blame him, not after everything he's been through. Not only was he away on some unknown mission for two years, he ends up finding an Altean who tells him about Lotor's true intentions, has to fight the guy who is practically his brother (who Lance is hoping to God isn't the reason Keith has that scar) and every other jacked up thing that happened leading up to where they are now. Speaking of Shiro, he actually decided to stay in the healing pod a little bit longer to get some extra rest, a decision that everyone agreed with despite their need of wanting him to stay awake so that they could catch up and hug him endlessly. As much as he wanted to do just that, the red paladin couldn't help but continue to feel guilty knowing that he could've saved him sooner and spare everyone all of this trauma. But knowing Shiro, he would tell him not to blame himself and nothing could've prevented it; a statement he would probably even tell Keith. When it was time for him to go back into the healing pod, words couldn't even begin to describe how sad and forlorn he looked, so much so he didn't even try to conceal his dread. The way that his purple eyes-

_Shit_

Lance was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize that Keith had turned around and was looking directly at him. The red paladin'e eyes widened in horror. How long was I thinking, he thought. The black paladin stared at him for a couple more seconds before getting up from Black's paw, giving his wolf one last pat before he started walking towards him. Lance turned around quickly and tried to focus back on the sky, which was now turning lighter in hue. But with the way that his heart was beating as fast as the Flash and how the air started getting so humid out of nowhere, that feat proved impossible.

"Lance."

Lance froze, holding his breath and clenching the edge of he boulder that he was sitting on. He continued looking ahead, not responding because even if he wanted to his throat thought that it was the perfect time to close and not let any sentences slip out of the Cuban's lips. He could hear him walking towards him and felt a sudden burst of warmth next to his armor. Lance slowly turned his head from the sky, hoping that Keith was at least looking at the sky as well. He couldn't have been more wrong, seeing a pair of bright violet eyes practically staring into his soul, causing him to retreat his head back to its original direction.

"Keith! Hey! Uh..."

_Come on, Lance. Think of something!_

"How's life?"

_AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!_

If there was a comet anywhere near the planet they were sitting on, Lance was BEGGING for it to destroy him in this very moment. Out of all of the things he could've said to this guy, he decided to say THAT?! The dude literally went through something that was basically BEYOND hell and he's gonna ask him that like he didn't GO THROUGH HELL!

"Wait! Wait, Keith I-!"

"I...know you didn't mean it that way, Lance." Keith slowly replied. Lance finally turned his head and saw Keith with his head down, eyes closed and probably contemplating his next response. After a few moments, he turned his head and looked at Lance.

"But to answer your question. I guess you could say that I've seen better days." he responded, giving a small chuckle and just the smallest hint of a smirk. Slowly but surely, Lance was finally put at ease, knowing that he didn't offend him or bring back any unnecessary trauma from...recent events. He sent back Keith a small chuckle of his own as they both decided to turn back to look across the ledge. The then dark purple sky now turning into a vibrant yet soft lavender with soft grazes of pink appearing as its sun slowly started to rise upon its surface. As much as he wanted to enjoy this newfound enjoyable silence, Lance knew that he and the half-Galran had some things to discuss, and they were things that the red paladin couldn't keep concealed any longer no matter how much he wanted to. But what was he even supposed to say? How could even bring it up? Would he even care? Well, he would't know unless he tried.

Keith couldn't remember the last time he was able to actually sit down and enjoy life. Just being able to sit down and actually watch a sunrise without fearing for his life felt new to him, even though this was something he would do in the early mornings during his time living in the dessert (before and after foster care) and whenever he would sneak out of his countless guest bedrooms in the homes of his various foster families. But even with the peaceful feeling that was stirring within him, he couldn't fully enjoy himself, not after everything that happened.

Finding out that Krolia was his mother. Traveling on a space whale for two years, which led him to finding a random space wolf (whom he loves dearly) and a living Altean. Learning that Lotor was harnessing the quintessence of innocent Alteans. Returning to the Castle only to get attacked by Lotor's generals and Shiro-. He didn't want to go there, not when he was finally starting to calm down. Not when he was finally at peace, and with Lance no less.

Lance.

Though the greeting he gave him back at the Castle was a bit hostile, Keith couldn't deny how much he had missed Lance during the time that he was away at the Blade. Not a day went by when he didn't think about giving anything to hear his ridiculous insults or his terrible pick-up lines or seeing him smile. If anything, he wanted nothing more but to just chill on the deck and catch up with him without a care in the world. The moment he saw him on the landing deck with the others, he just wanted to grab his hand and pull him into the tightest hug he could muster, but given the situation that was at hand at the time, he had to push his feelings aside.

"H-hey, Keith?" the latter asked hesitantly. Keith glimpsed at the Cuban briefly and saw that he was staring at the sunrise, but his then calm expression turned into one of pure anxiousness.

"What's up?" he responded.

He could see Lance tense up as he tried to respond. He kept on opening his mouth, trying to form words in order to expel them from his throat, but to no avail. The Cuban ended up turning his head to face Keith completely, his anxious expression still evident on his face with a pinch of fear mixed into it.

"Lance, it's okay. I know it's been awhile since we talked, but...you can talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." Keith replied gently, trying not to place a pleading tone in his voice. His response seems to have worked because the fear in Lance's eyes immediately evaporated.

"Well, I-"

"PALADINS! IT'S TIME WE KEPT ON MOVING!"

The Black and Red Paladin turned their heads to find Allura and everyone else packing up their stuff to continue the journey back to Earth. Pidge and Hunk were asking their final questions to Krolia, Allura and Coran were trying to push Kaltenecker back into Red, and Romelle walked with Matt back to his aircraft, probably riding with him for the remainder of the trip. Keith looked back at Lance to find him looking at everyone else a little bit longer before finally turning back to him. Before he could even say anything, Lance spoke the first words.

"Ah, nevermind. We can talk about it once we land again. Talk to you later." he spoke rather quickly. Lance sent him a small smile before getting up from the boulder and heading towards Blue, but not without petting Keith's wolf, who was was sprinting towards his owner eagerly. Keith chuckled and scratched behind the wolf's ears with affection. He got up from the boulder and stretched. He went to find Lance, only to see that Lance had already retreated back into Red. Keith sighed, starting his walk back to Black, Despite the dejected feeling forming his stomach, he was hopeful. This probably just wasn't the right time. They would have plenty of time to catch up and talk things over at the next pit stop or the second they landed back on Earth...

Or so he thought...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter takes place in the beginning of Season 8, as will the majority of the story.

"Go. Be with the ones you love."  
  
And with those final words, the room was dismissed. Keith watched as everyone in the room cleared out, ready to follow Shiro's advice and be with their friends and loved ones one final time before they head out to stop Honerva. His eyes were particularly trained on a certain Red paladin, whom for some reason looked a bit more nervous than usual as he and Hunk were the last ones to walk out the room.  
  
The black paladin can't remember how long it's been since he and Lance last talked. He honestly thought that as soon as they landed back on Earth. they would've been able to continue their short-lived conversation on that random planet they were on after defeating Lotor. But instead, the two of them, along with the rest of their team, were caught up in another hectic battle as they had to fight Zendak and force his troops off of the planet. That, and the fact that all of them almost got themselves killed in the process and spent most of their time in hospital beds. That couldn't have been more than at least a month ago, a fact that makes the now 20-year-old paladin cringe.  
  
"Keith? Everything alright?"Keith turned his head to look at Shiro, who was looking at him with concern and confusion as he held some documents. He didn't realize just how long he had been standing and possibly staring at the doorway until he heard him speak.  
  
"Um, yeah. I just...had-"  
  
"Had?" Shiro asked again, a hint of a small smirk on his face.  
  
" _Have_ a lot on my mind." Keith replied. He walked towards the front of the table where Shiro was and sat down at the first chair with a heavy sigh. Shiro, sensing the slight distress in his brother, set down his documents and grabbed a chair, pulling it towards the black paladin.  
  
"Well, I'm here now. You know you can tell me anything."  
  
"I don't want to take up your time or anything. You've been pretty busy. You know, being the new captain and all." Shiro sent him a chuckle and placed a hand on Keith's shoulder.  
  
"I've always got time for you, bud. Talk to me." Keith smiled. Even after everything that happened with them and the clone, it was as if nothing had changed between them. Though he doesn't like to admit, the half-Galran was worried that his relationship with Shiro would change after he found out that he was in the astral plane. A part of him continued to blame himself for how quick he was to believe that the Shiro he saved from the space craft was actually a clone. How he could've spared the team so much grief if he had figured it out before he left. How he could've saved him during their battle with Zarkon. But as soon as Shiro woke up, he made sure to let him know that he wasn't to blame, resulting in a tight hug and various "I missed yous" and "I love yous." Keith let out another sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"Well, it kinda has something to do with Lance." he confessed. Shiro's brows began to furrow as he let out somewhat of a disappointed sigh.  
  
"Don't tell me you guys are at each other's throats again." Shiro whined.  
  
"No! No, it's not like that. At least not this time. It has to do with Lance, but mainly to do with me? It's complicated." Keith bowed his head and clasped his hands. Shiro leaned forward in concern, crossing his arms over his knees as he waited for him to continue.  
  
"When we were on that one planet, after Allura brought you back. Me and Lance were talking for a bit. It sounded like he wanted to tell me something important. But before he could say anything, we had to leave. I honestly thought that once we came back home, we could talk again. But then we had Ezor and Zethrid and that stupid game show. And then we found out that Earth was already invaded. Then the fight with Sendak and me and the team almost dying. And then us recovering and getting ready now to face Honerva. And even with all of this, the only thing I could think about was- WHY THE HELL IS THIS BOTHERING ME SO MUCH?!" Keith screamed in anger, falling back hard against the seat.  
  
Shiro looked at him for a moment.  
  
"Are you sure you don't know? Because I think you just said it yourself." Shiro responded. Keith looked at his brother, eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and exhaustion. He was so busy ranting that he didn't realize exactly what he said. He honestly didn't expect to be so affected by an unfinished conversation.  
  
"It's just...when Lance and I talked, I really felt like he was trying to tell me something important. Something that involved...me. And I couldn't help but feel like I did something to him. But I think I know. I didn't just abandon the team. I abandoned him. I just up and left him to handle one disaster after another. Hell! He died, Shiro! If it wasn't for Allura, he would've-"  
  
"But he didn't. He's okay." Shiro grasped his shoulder and shook Keith gently.   
  
"He's going to be okay."  
  
"Yeah. _Because of Allura."_ Keith said quite darkly. Both his and Shiro's eyes widened. He honestly didn't mean to say the Altean's name so bitterly, but for some reason it came out that way. Keith quickly stood from his chair, looking down at Shiro in worry.  
  
"I-I didn't mean to say it like that! I swear, I just mean-" he started, only for Shiro to rise with him, placing his hands in front of him and moving them in a soothing motion.  
  
"It's okay. It's okay. I know you didn't mean it-"  
  
"But I did! Just not like that." Keith finished. He walked past his brother as he began to explain.  
  
"Look, I'm not trashing Allura. I know she wouldn't intentionally hurt Lance. But for some reason I just can't get over the fact that she was actually liking Lotor knowing how he felt about him. How he felt about _her._ And I know that people are allowed to move on with other people and it may be easy for some and hard for others. If Allura feels like moving on with Lance, so be it. And if Lance is willing, so be it. It's his choice."  
  
"But?" Keith stood in place, head hung low probably in shame.  
  
"Keith, you can say it."  
  
"I just don't want him to feel like a placeholder. I don't want Allura to be with him just because Lotor's gone. I want her to be with him because she wants to. I'm just worried that should they get together and then down the line she wants to drop out, Lance will be...He's gonna be-"  
  
"A rebound." Shiro finished for him.  
  
"Yeah. I'm horrible, aren't I? My friend might get the girl of his dreams, and I'm demolishing it when he's not even here. How fucked up is that?" Keith placed his head in his hand, shaking back and forth in regret. Shiro walked up and pulled him into a comforting side hug.  
  
"Keith, you're not horrible. If anything, you're being responsible. You want to make sure Lance comes out okay. You want him to be happy. You don't want him to get hurt. Keith let out another heavy sigh.  
  
"It's more than that."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Did my mom tell you when we were stranded on that space whale?"  
  
"The same one where you found Kosmo and aged two years? Yeah. She mentioned something about flashes?"  
  
"Yeah. Everyone now and then, there would be these big flashes of light in front of us. We would end up seeing the past and the future. That's how I saw my fight against-" Keith stopped. He didn't really like bringing up the clone situation around Shiro, given the sensitivity (and he's currently residing in the clone's body spiritually). But Shiro being Shiro is understanding of it, despite always saying that he's come to terms with it.  
  
"You don't have to explain. I get it." Keith chuckled, grateful for having someone so understanding and empathetic for a brother.  
  
"Thanks. But there was a moment where I got caught in the flash. It was the future. I saw me and Lance. And-" Shiro cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"And?" he asked. He watched as Keith turned his head and looked down. His eyes were focused on a section of the floor and the older of the two could've sworn he saw a faint blush. **And Keith almost never blushed.** Shiro stared at him a moment longer as realization began to dawn upon his white floof and eventually his head.  
  
"OH." Shiro finally replied.  
  
"Yeah. We had...gotten closer. And at first I couldn't understand it. I just kept thinking 'Why Lance? Of all people?' But then, everything just made sense. All this time, while me and Lance were becoming less of rivals and more of friends. And now, I want more than that." Keith stated somberly.  
  
"And now you feel like you can't because he's going after Allura." Shiro finished. Keith finally raised his head looking at the ceiling somberly.  
  
"Yeah." he replied, voice cracking. Shiro gripped him closer towards him. He knew this feeling all too well. When he was younger and more reckless, he thought he didn't have a chance with Adam. Even though they had shared the same classes, were in the same units, and shared the same dorm, he had felt like he wouldn't be able to reach him. Shiro was carefree, open, and hated being restricted. Adam was reserved, slightly ajar to others, and was fairly restrained. Yet despite all this, they brought out the best in each other and was quite the shock when people found out they were friends. He loved Adam, but so did everybody else. Guys and girls alike coming up to him to shoot their shot. Until one day he decided to just bite the bullet and confess. Instead of a rejection, he got a sigh of relief, a smile, and a "What took you so long?" Down the line, they were dating for four years, with Shiro proposing around Adam's birthday. And were only engaged for one year till everything came crashing down. And even though the former black paladin would give anything to go back in time and change the outcome of their future, he wouldn't change their journey for the world.  
  
Shiro hated seeing his brother go through this. He was there to see the beginning of Keith and Lance's dynamic. He saw them fight with each other but he also saw them fight _for_ each other. He saw them laugh together and celebrate victories together. Even when he was within Black, he sensed the two paladins become closer than ever. There was even a moment in time where he thought that eventually there could be something forming between them that was beyond the bonds of friendship. But he remembered Allura. And how infatuated Lance was for her. And he sensed how hurt he was when she started getting closer with Lotor. He didn't know all of the details and frankly he didn't want to for he felt that he knew enough. But he did know that if anything, Lance and Keith need to continue that conversation they had earlier before things got more complicated.  
  
"I'm going to try to talk to him. But I'm not gonna tell him what I just told you." Keith spoke firmly. Shiro looked down at him, but eventually sighed.  
  
"If that's what you want to do, I won't stop you. I just want you to be happy. Whether it's with Lance or not. Okay?" Keith finally looked at him, eyes slightly glistening and a slight smile on his face.  
  
"Okay. Thanks, brother. I love you." Keith turned and gave Shiro a tight frontal hug, with Shiro responding by holding him tightly, his new Garrison arm stroking his now long hair.  
  
"Love you too, little brother." Shiro replied. They pulled away after a minute or two. Keith gave him one last smile as he turned to walk towards the door. He then stopped and turned around.  
  
"I'm heading out to find Kosmo and chill for a bit. Want to join me?" Shiro smiled.  
  
"I'd love to, but Iverson wants me to check these documents first. I'll come find you later." Keith nodded and headed out. Shiro sat down and looked at the documents, but didn't focus on the words. He sighed and looked at the ceiling, giving a short laugh.  
  
 _Adam, please help our kid. I'm getting too old for this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this chapter was written, VLD was pretty much over and I needed something to get through the first few months of quarantine. So since Season 8 was still somewhat fresh and people wanted me to expand on it after the first chapter (which took place post-Season 6), I decided to make it into a fix-it story.
> 
> Even though I skipped Season 7 for this chapter, scenes from that specific season WILL be mentioned and addressed as the story continues. 
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not really related to the chapter per say, but I'm gonna be trying to upload the chapters a little bit more frequently so that I can post my new chapters on all of my platforms at the same time instead of posting my current chapter and uploading an old one here.
> 
> But on that note, I'm really happy to know that you guys actually dig Void and I hope you continue to enjoy it! With that being said, enjoy Chapter 3!

_Man, was getting permission always this stressful?_

Lance was currently pacing around the Garrison, avoiding the confused gazes of Garrison personnel and visitors alike. He had just come from his "sit-down" with Coran to get his permission to take out Allura on their date; which had only proven to be one of, if not THE most stressful conversation he has ever had in his entire life. Usually when a guy gets the dad's permission to take out their little girl, there's nothing more than the cold stare, telling him to bring home his little girl by a decent time, and the infamous "if she comes home crying, I'll break your kneecaps" line, or at least something to that effect. He didn't expect to come out of it having to scurry around the Garrison with his head down because of him wearing the equivalent of Altean courtship armor for just a simple date.

And now he found himself here. Aimlessly walking down another hallway in the Garrison to calm his nerves, which was somewhat difficult considering the metal bucket that was weighing down on his head.

"Lance! Are you okay?"

Lance raised his eyes to find Shiro walking towards him holding papers, a look of concern on his face. The red paladin gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"H-hey, Shiro! Don't worry about me! I don't wanna keep you." Shiro stopped in front of him, a smirk making its way on his face.

"Really? Because you look like you want to make a mad dash for the dorms. And besides, I can make some time." Lance sighed. He should've known Shiro would see right through the facade. He was always able to tell when something was wrong with him or anyone else on the team and he never hesitated to stop and listen to anyone's problems. That's what made him great to Lance, and something he definitely missed when Shiro was gone for all that time.

"Yeah. I'm just worried that Coran is gonna kill me if he finds out I took this stuff off." Lance replied. Shiro leaned back and took in the boy's attire. Aside from the VERY visible and VERY mangled bucket, he had on two metal pots that served as shoulder pads, each with a corresponding cape and a link of sausages around his neck. Honestly, it's no wonder why the sharpshooter looked like he wanted to run for the hills.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Allura? Like a date?" the former paladin inquired. Lance snapped his fingers and pointed at him, signaling that his guess was correct. This caused Shiro to widen his eyes.

"Wait, really?"

"I know. I was shocked, too. But she said yes and we're gonna just go with the flow, y'know?" Lance stated, a blush creeping up on his cheeks as he looked down at the ground. Shiro looked at him, only to feel a tiny ping in his chest. As happy as he was for the red paladin, he couldn't help but be reminded of his brother, the one who had bared his soul and fears to him not too long ago. Who was worried about this kind of development happening. But despite that, his friend was happy and he needed to support him.

"Wow. I'm happy for you, Lance." Shiro finally responded with a small smile. Lance smiled back at him.

"Thanks. At least someone has the decency to say that with a straight face!" Lance yelled. Shiro raised an eyebrow in confusion, prompting the red paladin to keep going.

"No, listen! I went to tell Pidge the good news earlier! But guess what? One look at me like this and she was on the floor laughing for a good two minutes! Hell, I could still hear her when I was walking away!"

"Hunk laughed at you, too?"

"No, Hunk was cool. He at least had the decency to try and hold it in and gulp it down and give me some tips." Shiro nodded in acknowledgement. He expected this kind of reaction from Hunk and Pidge, but he knew that they came from a good place and there was no malicious intent behind it. Lance stilled for a moment.

"By the way, where's Keith?" he asked. With everything that had been going on the last couple of months, Lance couldn't even remember the last time he even talked to the aforementioned black paladin. He was still somewhat looking forward to finishing their conversation from several moons ago, but with everything going on with Earth they barely had time to acknowledge it. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if Keith ended up forgetting.

"He said he was going to relax with Cosmo. Knowing him he's probably outside." Shiro answered. Lance, unbeknownst to himself, exhaled in relief.

"Okay. Thanks for listening, Shiro!" Lance said as he began to run past his friend, starting his search for his friend. Shiro smiled and waved at him.

"No problem! Have fun!" the former paladin shouted back. He watched as the Cuban boy ran, attracting more attention from his mere apparel alone. Once he was out of sight, Shiro sighed softly, a conflicted frown on his face. Lance was going to get his happy ending, but at the cost of his brother's own happiness. The captain began his walk to find Iverson, mentally saying a silent prayer along the way.

It only took a few minutes before Lance was able to spot Keith, atop of the black lion. He was sitting next to Kosmo, staring out at the sunset. Like it was going to be the last time he would ever get to enjoy such a beautiful sight with such content. Lance couldn't help but to stare at his leader in awe, like he shouldn't be disturbed. But given since he was already here, he might as well go all the way. And so he started to climb.

"Man, you can be a real hard guy to find when you wanna be." Lance said, exhausted.

"Hey, Lance. Whoa!"

Through his exhaustion, he was a able to spot Keith's second take at him before looking up at him in utter shock. Slight embarrassment took over Lance as he looked down.

"What are you wearing?" Lance sighed, slowly walking towards the half-Galran and sitting down..

"Coran made it for me for my date with Allura." He heard Keith pause before he went on.

"A date with Allura?" Wow! Well done, Lance." Okay, that was something Lance didn't expect to hear. Sure, Keith isn't the type to tear someone down when they got a sliver of good news, but he usually isn't one to sound so...happy about it. The most he would do is just shrug and mutter out a little "Good for you" or "Congratulations" before walking out. The red paladin thought back to the conversation when they were saving Shiro after he crash landed back on Earth.

_Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot._

_Well, not anymore. I'm fighter class now thanks to you washing out._

_Well, congratulations._

"Thanks. But it could be our last. I can't keep all these Altean customs straight." Lance remarked sadly, taking off his heavy metal bucket in the process. He's not going to lie and say he didn't feel any pressure going into this date. This wasn't just any regular girl. This was a princess from another planet. One who he actively died for so that they could have this moment in time. So, naturally, it came with the territory that he had to follow some customs the same way he would've had he still stayed on Earth and never found Shiro. And it didn't really help that he spent all that time trying to get her attention only for her to brush him aside and reject him, even going as far as to fall in love Lotor. But considering that he was now out of the way, Allura finally noticed him. But he couldn't help from asking himself,

"Why though?"

Keith saw Lance's internal struggle and tried to form the proper words. As much as the situation itself upset him, he couldn't leave Lance looking and feeling this forlorn about the future.

"Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she like you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you." Keith responds with a smirk. Lance, still looking down, released a slight laugh. Keith felt his chest release at the sight. He was hoping that he hadn't said something to make the object of his affection crawl back into his shell of self doubt, but seeing him smile and laugh relieved him to no end. He watched as Lance raised his head out and looked ahead, savoring the sight of the sunset. The black paladin turned his head in the same direction. He had always been fond of sunsets ever since Shiro came into his life. Every time after they raced each other, they'd just stop and take a moment to watch. And now that Lance was sitting right next to him, it was nothing more than perfect to him.

"You watching the sunset?" Lance asked after a moment.

"Yeah, might be a while before we get to see it again."

"Man, I'm really gonna miss this place." Lance said somberly. It didn't take long for the bittersweet feeling to consume both of the paladins. This was their last day on Earth before they went back up into space to stop Honerva. If they learned anything from their time in space the first time around; it was that even though time in space might be slow, the time on Earth will remain the same. While they hadn't aged (with Keith being a unique exception), their families and loved ones did. There was a good chance that once they came back this time around, their loved ones might be older, or heaven forbid already gone. So they knew they had to get this done as quickly as possible, so that they can come back to making more memories.

"That's why we've gotta end this war." Keith paused, thinking carefully about what to say next.

"And we're gonna do it with the Lance that's the Paladin of the Red Lion, the Lance that's always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is, and what he's got to offer." Keith finished, turning his head to smile at Lance. The blue paladin paused in surprise of what was just said to him, but smiled soon afterward. A small smirk soon started to grace his features.

"You know what, mullet? You've gotten a bit better at motivating! Normally, you would say that I look flat out ridiculous." Lance joked. Keith rolled his eyes and shoved him, turning his head to the side chuckling. He did think Lance looked ridiculous, but he couldn't help but to find it endearing on how absolutely done he looked. How cute he looked.

"You do. But I'm just being supportive, I guess." Keith replied honestly. Any other time, Lance would be at least somewhat offended, but at this point he saw how much Keith had changed since he had left the team so he knew he was telling the truth and wasn't being sarcastic. That wouldn't stop him from trying to at least somewhat annoy him. Lance looked past him to look over at Kosmo, who was looking down at the ground.

"Hey, Kosmo? What do you think? I'm as handsome as ever right?" Lance asked in his flirty tone, oblivious to the fact that Keith facepalmed at his question. The space wolf turned his head to the red paladin in intrigue, only to sneeze and teleport back into the Garrison as if the question was never asked. Lance scoffed in fake offense as Keith tilted his head back in laughter.

"Seriously?! E tu Kosmo?!" Lance wailed in defeat. He quickly looked back at Keith who was still laughing at the site.

"It wasn't that funny, mullet!" he yelled. Keith's laughs slowly began to die down as he wiped his eyes of possible stray tears, chuckling to himself lowly.

"No. It really was." Lance grabbed the bucket next to him and proceeded to hit Keith in his shoulder repeatedly, not enough to hurt him but to teach him a lesson. Mid-hit, Keith took the bucket from Lance's grasp and placed it back on his head in retaliation, laughing some more. Little did he notice that the Cuban boy had begun staring at him. He couldn't help but to take in the way the half-Galran's shoulders bounced with every chuckle. How he attempted to wipe his bangs out of his face. How much harmony his laugh brought to his ears. How his smil-

"You good?'

Lance was startled out of his stupor with a confused and slightly alarmed Keith staring back at him, his ears slowly starting to turn red. Lance, himself, began to get flustered.

"Y-yeah. Just, um- Man, is it just me or is there some weight on my shoulders?" Lance asked aloud, moving around frantically and trying to lose the collar of his uniform. Keith looked him up and down, scooting a little closer to his flustered comrade.

"I mean, you ARE wearing pots for shoulder pads." Keith stated with amusement. He watched as Lance's eyes widened and looked at his shoulders, almost forgetting that he had them on to begin with. He then watched as Lance began to remove the sausage link and attempt to remove the pots. He succeeded in removing the pot and cape on his left shoulder with ease. But when he attempted to remove the pot form his right shoulder, the handle ended up getting caught on his uniform. In a rather on brand chain of events, the movement of his arm caused the cape that was attached to the pot to fling over his head, blinding him. The red paladin put up a valiant struggle to remove the cape, but alas it was to no avail and proceeded to fall onto his back and squirm in defeat, still struggling. Keith could only look at the scene, utterly dumbfounded. He chuckled before deciding to put Lance out of his humiliating misery.

"Okay. This is just getting sad." Keith chuckled, leaning forward to pull up Lance. He reached over and grabbed the cape off of Lance's head, not realizing how close their faces would be once it got pulled off of him. All Keith could see in this moment was blue.

To say that Lance was also taken aback by this new development was surely an understatement. One minute, he sees nothing but blue cloth on his face and the next he comes into contact with his friend's gleaming purple eyes. Just the sight of them had the Cuban boy entranced. Somehow, he couldn't help but to think back to when they were on that planet after they brought Shiro back. That same sense of tranquility and slowed urgency present as it was back then. Only this time it was different. He knew he didn't have time to savor this. He had things to do, a date to go on, a princess to see. And yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

"Lance?" Keith asked breathily. Lance leaned in an inch closer to him, as if he wanted to hear him say his voice again. He noticed the way Keith took a quick look as lips before he looked back up and tried to keep his gaze.

"Keith, I-" he started. At least, he wanted to.

"I gotta go change." He said finally. He slowly but urgently grabbed the pots, capes, and bucket and stood up, ready to begin his descent down the lion, but not before looking back at Keith.

"Thanks for listening, Keith. It meant a lot." Lance said with a nervous smile. Keith gave him the same smile before looking back out to the sunset, or at least what remained of it. With the bucket filled with pots and capes on his arm, he climbed down. As he went, he began chanting phrases to himself to get ready for the date before him.

_You got this, man!_

_Show her a great time, sharpshooter!_

_Give Allura the time of her life!_

_Get yourself out of these clothes!_

_He's your friend._

_Right?_


	4. Chapter 4

"...or the time when we were kids and Veronica mixed dirt with the water and told Lance it was chocolate milk."

Lance heard the entire table laugh at the memory. Normally, he would laugh along, too, or at the very least attempt to deny his young obliviousness. But he just didn't have it in him tonight. Fifteen minutes into the dinner and the most that he could do was move his slice of chicken from one side of the plate to the other, head slightly down. He had a knot in his stomach that gradually began to grow the longer he sat and hasn't gone down since he had left the Garrison.

The paladin's ears suddenly perked at the sound of Allura's laugh. Her vibrant, gentle laugh. He finally cut a piece of his chicken and plucked it into his mouth, hoping its juiciness would quench his now dry throat. His eyes slowly moved to focus on the princess. How her hair bounced when she laughed. How much her eyes sparkled with clear intrigue. How her bangles accentuated her beautiful hands.

"What did he do?" Allura asked Veronica, the current topic of the chocolate milk incident still fresh.

"He told on me, of course. Then Pop-pop gave him ice cream and I got none." Veronica replied. Lance managed to let out a small smile as he took a sip of his drink. It didn't take long for the knot to lessen for just a moment. _Guess I was just thirsty,_ Lance thought.

"Speaking of dates, maybe you can put in a good word for me with that long- haired friend of yours, hmm?" Veronica asked teasingly, a seductive smirk making residence on her face. It didn't take long for the red paladin to remember who in his circle had long hair. The same person he left atop of the Black Lion. The knot returned instantly as Lance's eyes widened.

"What, Keith?! No, no, no!" Lance shouted. Just the thought alone of his sister having anything to with Keith just bugged him out. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if the knot in his stomach erupted into a fireball and started destroying his organs. What if it did and he had yet to feel it? Was this how the red paladin met his end? Set aflame by his own body because of the mere thought of his sister dating his friend? Lance laughed nervously before getting a grip on his senses.

"No way. No."

"Why not? She seems to be cool around you guys. I've even seen her spar with your friend Keith a couple of times. I just thought you were at least on speaking terms with, um. What's her name?" Veronica replied in confusion. Lance's eyebrows furrowed.

"W-wait? You mean, Acxa?" Lance answered with hesitation.

"Yeah, her! I've been wanting to talk to her but nowadays I rarely see her. Plus, I don't think she really talks to anyone."

"Oh. My bad." Veronica smirked. "What's wrong? Worried I was gonna steal your friend away?" Lance leaned away from her in disgust.

"Are you crazy?! AS IF!" the Cuban teen exclaimed, earning laughs from the table and chuckle from his older sister, along with a bump on the shoulder. Yeah, there was no way in hell that Lance was gonna let Keith near his sister in any capacity after this conversation. The red paladin shoved the remainder of his chicken into his mouth and chewed in earnest embarrassment, plotting the black paladin's murder for no apparent reason.

Y _eah, there is no way in HELL he's getting near Veronica. It's not like he's interested in anybody. Unless there's something in his Galra DNA that can attract people. Great, one look at his purple eyes, cool dog and sexy mullet and the masses are done for! I swear, the moment he even looks at Veronica or Rachel, it's ON!_

_Did I just call his mullet SEXY?!_

Veronica stood from her chair and raised her glass, everyone else doing the same.

"A toast...to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow, we'll always remain close at heart. Family is forever."

"To family!"

As glasses were clinked at smiles were shared, Lance took another look at Allura, who was sharing a smile at his mother. To say that Lance was confused was definitely an understatement. He had the girl of his dreams right in front of him, with his family no less. She was laughing and smiling and having a good time with them. Having a good time with HIM. For once, everything felt right.

_Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she likes you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you._

So why didn't it feel like enough?

* * *

The sentiment continued to ring through Lance's head as he and Allura walked through the park. They had just finished dinner with his family not too long ago and his sister Rachel suggested he take her to his favorite park for some "royal private time" as she called it. His eyes became trained on the tree that stood at the center of the park, all withered and drained of life. As he stood before it, he became reminded of when he was a boy, running around the tree with his siblings in an intense game of tag that resulted in him and his siblings being covered in handprints. Fast forward a few years and he would carry his niece and nephew on his back, pretending to be an airplane and zooming around the tree.

"This place used to be so beautiful." Lance said somberly.

"It's all my fault the Galra did this to your home." Allura replied, guilt laced in her voice. The red paladin was quick to shut down her notion. He swiftly turned his head towards her.

"No, it's not your fault. Besides, meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me." Lance replied, smiling fondly at the Altean. His sentiment though seemed to be unheard as the princess walked towards the tree, placing her hand against it. _Guess I said something wrong_ , Lance thought in disappointment.

Suddenly, his eyes widened in amazement as the tree began to glow, trails of quintessence consuming every root and branch upon it. Soon enough, balls of light began to float in the air as new batches of leaves grew on the branches and the tree's base. It wasn't long before the tree was revived to its former glory, strong and covered with healthy leaves; New flowers in bloom as the once blue balls of light were dimmed down to a calming orange hue. A smile graced Lance's face as he gazed upon the newly revived tree, amazed at the sight. He was so entranced with the sight he almost didn't realize that Allura had started to speak.

"When we were out there, fighting the Galra, I somehow felt like...like we were a family. Each of us was alone, but we were alone together."

Lance stayed silent as she turned.

"But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family and a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me. And for the first time, I feel uncertain about what my future holds."

Heartbroken couldn't begin to describe how Lance felt at that moment. He never realized just how along Allura felt. She had always made it clear that she saw him and the others as her new family, but deep down he knew that they couldn't replace the ones she knew before them. Looking back, he could see why. Since they've been back on Earth, Hunk has been spending time creating new recipes with family and feeding them Earth versions of the Altean dishes they had in the Castle of Lions (with Coran's permission of course.) Pidge has been busy doing her tech stuff with Matt and her dad, along with the occasional squabbles she has with her mom with her being grounded. Even Keith, who he once saw as nothing more than a moody loner, now has his mother and Kosmo. And even though he knows nothing about Shiro's loved ones, the red paladin is fully aware of the place he has in Keith's life and how much Keith viewed him as his older brother. Hell, Lance had just finished having dinner at his family home filled with his parents, siblings, niece and nephew. All Allura had was Coran, the mice, and her memories of a home who she's giving her life to avenge.

"It's silly. I used to think that the team relied on me. That I needed to be strong for everyone else. But now I see it was I that needed all of you. You are my strength." Allura finished, a small smile finally gracing her face as she looked at the young man before her.

_Her strength? I'M her strength? No, by "you" she probably meant the team. Yeah, that's it. Or maybe...not?_

The red paladin gathered his words together, not wanting to mess anything up.

"Allura, you are not alone. And if I have anything to say about it, you'll never be alone."

_This is it. No turning back._

"I-I don't care if this is only our first date. I..."

_Say it, damn it!_

"Allura, I wanna be your family. Earth can be your home, or anywhere you wanna go. It doesn't matter. I would follow you across the universe if it meant helping you find your home." he finished somewhat confidently. Allura was frozen as she took in his words.

"You truly feel that way?" the princess inquired. The Cuban teen walked towards her and grabbed her hand, putting it on his chest. He held it tighter as a light smile formed on his face, his eyes holding sincerity.

"With all my heart." Lance said, love and admiration laced in his voice. He was frozen in place as Allura continued to look at him, her body completely towards him and looking at him in pure relief and security. Her smile soft, yet still full of hope for the future. Lance continued to stare as it appeared that the princess was moving towards him slowly. His breath became hitched, as he never in a million years expected this. For so long, the princess would pull away, sometimes hesitantly or immediately depending on what he had said or done before hand in his vain attempts to steal her heart. This might be the first time she actually pushed towards him. So why turn away now?

He exhaled shakily as he contemplated leaning forward or staying in place, his gentle grip on her hand becoming slightly firm. As he gazed into her eyes, he thought about all the things that brought him to this moment. Finding the blue lion. Getting tossed into space. Finding the Castle of Lions. Finding her. All the battles. The fights. The cheers. The tears. Everything. This was it. He saw everything he ever wanted and desired. The blue waves from the beach near his home. The hues of pink he would spot in the seashells his niece would pick up for him. The orange rays of light the sun would cast as it set for the night.

He saw the red and blue fireworks in the sky in celebration of the war's end.

He saw the green pieces of envy in the team's faces when he told him about tonight.

He saw the yellow in the lemonades he would sip with his family and friends once they had time for a proper vacation.

And when thought of this moment, he saw purple.

Purple.

Purple eyes.

The grip on Allura's hand was revived as he lifted it to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He felt the pause in Allura's movements as he bent slightly in a princely manner, his best attempt of a smirk appearing. The Altean seemed to buy into it as she chuckled, bringing her hand to her lips as she laughed on.

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less then." said the princess. Suddenly, her eyes moved past the paladin as she gasped, making the boy stand in front of her for protection's sake. Luckily for them, it was simply the robot Pidge had built...who just so happened to be stalking them. The two looked in confusion as it squealed.

"I think he wants us to smile." Lance guessed. Allura looked at him for a moment before she put two and two together. The two decided on standing next to each other, Lance with his hands in his pockets with a wink on his face while Allura stood with her hands clasped in front of her, head on Lance's shoulder. As pictures were being snapped, Lance couldn't help but reflect on everything that had just happened prior to this.

He was moments away from doing the one thing he always dreamt of doing since he met her. He was almost going to kiss her. He was almost going to kiss the girl of his dreams. He had every opportunity at that moment to go for it, but he didn't. So many emotions were rushing through his head at once.

But the one that stuck out most was relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Just wanted to say that for the next two days I'll be uploading the rest of the already written chapters so that everything's up to date. Mainly for three reasons:
> 
> 1\. So that everything is up to date whenever a new chapter is posted
> 
> 2\. I can upload said chapters at the same time on all platforms
> 
> 3\. In the godforsaken case I end up in a cloud of misery and despair due to the election and I won't want to post. So I might as well have everything up so that I don't have to worry about posting when I'm in tears
> 
> (Hopefully, the result will be good, but this is just in case things turn out to be a nightmare.)


	5. Chapter 5

The first steps back on Garrison soil was relieving, yet bittersweet.

Keith walked through the halls of the Garrison, hoping for the numbness in his feet to fade as he paced about. He had intended to stay up atop of the Black Lion until sunset, but had ended up staying there until Shiro had called him, saying he had been out two hours over the time he said he's leave and that Romelle was getting concerned, the Altean having been keeping Kosmo company in her room for the time he was up there. The black paladin had simply said "okay" as he hung up and finally stood, beginning the descent down the lion. Needless to say, once he finally came down, his feet had to readjust to the ground beneath them as he walked back to the Garrison.

As he started walking back, Keith couldn't help but to think about Lance and how his date had gone. He can already hear him raving about it tomorrow. How he pulled out the chair for her every five seconds. How he impressed her at the dinner table with some of his corny one-liners. How he probably dipped her under the moon for their first k-

Keith pulled his hair firmly. He hated that he felt this strongly. When Lance had first said that he was going on the date with Allura, he genuinely was happy for the red paladin. He finally got to be with the woman he loved and take her out for a romantic date. He was supposed to be happy for him. He is happy for him. But that didn't mean he couldn't feel the tiniest bit saddened at the idea. Especially after the events on the lion's head just a few hours before.

_Get a hold of yourself man._

_Don't make this about yourself._

_You had your chance._

_And you missed it…_

… _again._

The black paladin bit his lip as he thought back to that small moment back on the Black Lion. He couldn't help but remember the burning feeling in his chest when Lance was looking at him. He remembered the way Lance leaned in. He remembered how he wanted more than anything than to lean In and relish the feeling of his lips as the sun gleamed on their blushing faces.

Fast forward to now and the events still played in his mind. Keith sighed as he stopped in his tracks, finally loosening the grip on his hair. He raised his head as he looked up at the ceiling.

_Must be nice_ , he thought somberly.

The half Galran was so lost in thought that he was taken completely off guard when he felt something firm bump into him, pushing him forward slightly. Keith turned around quickly, about to see what hit him when his eyes widened in surprise.

"Lance?"

Lance stood in front of him, a look of surprise and embarrassment etched all over his face. The Cuban teen stood awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck, the other hand stuffed in his pocket. Lance chuckled awkwardly as he snapped out of his short stupor.

"Hey. Sorry man, I didn't mean to bump into you." Lance said awkwardly. Keith shook his head and waved his hand in front of him.

"No, it's fine. I probably shouldn't be standing in the middle of a hallway."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't." Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes, a small smile gracing his features and an eyebrow now raised.

"Yeah, whatever. I was just lost in thought. What's your excuse?" Keith quipped. The red paladin paused in his response as he sighed softly. Keith turned towards Lance completely, worried he said something he shouldn't have said.

"Same thing." he finally replied.

"Oh." Lance looked down awkwardly, the hand previously on the back of his neck now newly stuffed into his other pants pocket. Keith crossed his arms in worry as he looked at the guy he thought about kissing a few hours ago.

_Did something happen on his date?_

"Do you…do you want to talk about it?" Keith asked cautiously. Lance looked up at Keith as he searched his face, looking for any signs of seriousness. It was there, along with eyefuls of genuine concern.

"Y-yeah.'

"Everything okay?" Lance took a sharp inhale through his nose.

"Something happened on my date with Allura." Keith did his best to keep his eyes from widening again. He began to walking from his original spot to the anxious paladin, stopping when he was right next to him. The black paladin turned his head to him.

"This warrants a walk." Keith said, reassurance laced in his voice. Lance smiled in thanks as he turned around and started walking side by side with Keith.

"So, you said something happened when you were with Allura?" Keith asked.

"Yeah. Well, mainly what happened towards the END of it."

"I'm listening." Keith's eyes snuck a glance at Lance, noticing the tension in his body as he walked. His eyes were filled with confusion and…embarrassment? If Keith wasn't feeling bad before, he was definitely feeling it now. He turned his head completely to look at him.

"Hey. If you don't want to talk about it, then-" Lance raised his head quickly and returned Keith's gaze, eyes widened in worry.

"N-no, no! I want to." Lance replied quickly. Keith nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Okay, so…after we had dinner with my parents, we took a walk and went to this park I used to go to when I was a kid. And without getting into too much, I told her about my feelings for her."

_D-did she turn him down?_

"Did she turn you down?" Keith asked cautiously. A deep blush grazed Lance's face as he began to slightly panic.

"W-well, not exactly?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, she didn't turn me down. B-but she didn't turn me up, either?" Keith looked at Lance incredulously at what he just said, never having felt so confused in his entire life. That statement alone caused the Galra to stop in his tracks as he just stared at the panicking teen, whom was too focused on staring as his shoes and blushing to even acknowledge Keith's existence at the moment.

"Lance. What the fuck does th-"

"SHE TRIED TO KISS ME AND I DIDN'T DO IT!" Lance all but exclaimed quickly. Keith's heart stopped as his eyes widened once more. So many emotions flew through his mind at once, but one look at Lance's confused and almost scared face and he knew that he needed to focus on him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout like that I just-" Lance didn't get the chance to finish as Keith placed a firm hand on his shoulder, leaning down a little to meet his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. Just tell me what happened." Lance sighed as he began to recount the events, but not before shooting Keith a quick grateful glance.

"After I told her, I was holding her hand and she was smiling at me. And then next thing I know, she starts leaning in and I lean in to but then-then I just couldn't. And I wanted to! Man, I really wanted to do it!" the Cuban teen said painfully. Keith furrowed his brows. He chose his words carefully.

"Why didn't you?"

"I-"

Lance's closed his eyes tightly, as if he was trying to get his words together. What was he even supposed to say? That he had bad breath? That he left the gas running at his family home? That Allura had some parsley stuck in her teeth? The red paladin slowly opened his eyes as he slowly turned his head and met Keith's gaze. Once again, he found himself lost in purple.

The same purple that kept him from kissing Allura.

_His_ purple eyes.

"I-I'm scared." It wasn't until he felt the lump in his throat that he realized that he was crying. He didn't mean to say that as an answer, but when he really thought about it, it was true. Sure, when he didn't kiss Allura, he felt a lot of things, relief being one of them, but he also felt scared. He was scared that when it came down to it, he couldn't go through with the one thing he's been wanting to do since the day he met her. He was scared that even though he was beating the shit out of himself for not kissing her, he was patting himself on the back for not going through with it. He was scared of the fact that when he was leaning in, the eyes of someone else came into his mind and he didn't fight it. He let himself get lost in the eyes of someone he considered his friend. Someone who looked at him with the upmost trust. Someone who looked at him as the farthest thing of a burden. Someone who is looking at him as the most fragile piece of glass in the world and is trying to keep them from falling apart.

"Whoa whoa! Lance, it's okay!" Keith panicked as he wrapped his arm around Lance's trembling shoulders, rubbing his hand up and down his arm to help him stop himself from sobbing.

"Lance, it's okay. It's okay to be scared. I've been there, just…it's gonna be okay." Keith whispered. His felt an ache in his chest as he saw Lance make an attempt to wipe at his eyes, a hand over his mouth to keep any incoming sobs from spilling out. Keith raised his heads and quickly looked around the hallway, looking to see if there were any prying eyes. Luckily, they were the only ones in the currently empty hallway, and there was no way in hell was he gonna let ANYONE see Lance like this. Keith turned his head back to Lance.

"Hey, do you feel like heading back to your room?" Keith asked urgently. Lance turned his head to him as he slowly nodded his head.

"Do you want me to take you?" Lance looked down for a moment before looking up at him, hesitatingly.

"Please." Lance choked out.

The red paladin returned his gaze back to the floor as Keith walked him back to the dorms. As embarrassed as he was for crying in front of Keith, if he had the choice, he wouldn't mind going to him. And even though he was relieved that this night was coming to an end, he couldn't help but feel like that there were once again things that were left unsaid.


	6. Chapter 6

Allura sighed as she sat on her bed, exhausted from the events of the night. Lance had dropped her off at her room a few minutes ago, so she couldn't help but to lose herself within her thoughts. A small smile came to her face as she recounted the night she had with Lance's family. They were truly wonderful people and had effortlessly made her feel like she was apart of the family. She was reminded of her mother's kindness during her talks with Lance's mother. She was reminded of her father's quiet yet sensitive nature when she looked at Lance's father. She laughed when she conversed with Veronica, Marco and Rachel and immediately felt like a kid again when she watched Luis and Lisa watching over Nadia and Sylvio. To say that the kids were miniature versions of Lance was an understatement.

Speaking of Lance...

The Altean couldn't help but to think about the red paladin. She noticed the unusual shift in his behavior throughout the majority of the night. She noticed how confused and conflicted he looked at the dinner table while she wasn't looking. He seemed to have calmed down just a little while they walked in the park, though she could feel there was still some tension from his end. And it didn't help matters that way he acted when he dropped her off.

 _Lance, would you lik_ e _to come inside?_

_U-uh, no thanks! I'd like to, but I gotta get my beauty rest, you know? We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so kinda need the energy!_

_Alright. So I'll-_

_Yup! See you in the morning! Good night, princess!_

The princess furrowed her brows at the memory. She couldn't forget how fidgety and anxious he was to get out of there, like he was stuck in a mine field and was in fear of being blown to bits She knew that Lance didn't hate her, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he's starting to avoid her. Just as she thought that, she felt little feet climb up to her shoulder. Allura turned her head to find the mice, happy and eager to see her and squeaking in delight. She couldn't help but to smile.

"It's good to see you, too. Have you been behaving well?" she asked, grinning. Platt turned their head, looking at the door for a quick moment before turning their head back to Allura, asking about Lance's whereabouts.

"He left not too long ago. He came over just to drop me off." Chulatt quickly climbed atop of Platt's head, tilting their head in curiosity before squeaking.

"Oh, he's alright. And don't worry. he was the perfect gentleman." Allura responded with a chuckle. Soon enough, the mice lined up next to each other, heads on their paws and eyes wide in anticipation.

"You want to know how the date went, don't you?" Allura asked in exasperation, already knowing the answer. Sure enough, all four mice nodded their heads in excitement. The Altean let out a sigh before she began.

"Well, it was…nice. We had dinner at his house and I got to meet his family. They're very lovely people. So…close." Allura let out a sad smile, being reminded of her parents and Altea. She let a cough, trying not to dwell on the memory.

"Anyway, afterwards he took me to a nearby park. We talked for a bit and then he decided to take us back to get ready for tomorrow. That's pretty much everything." Allura finished. She watched as Chuchule climbed on top of Platt, puckering their lips and mimicking kiss sounds. Allura blushed in embarrassment.

"A-absolutely not!" she yelled. Allura quickly turned around, trying her best to hide her blush. She wasn't going to go ahead and feed into their teasing. She heard the mice squeak in glee, assuming that their princess was lying and did in fact kiss the red paladin. Frustrated, Allura turned her head back to them quickly.

"I'm telling you I didn't! Well, _he_ didn't." Allura spoke softly. The mice stopped squeaking as they observed Allura, taking aback by her sudden somber expression. They all tilted their heads in confusion. The princess noticed the gestures and sighed before explaining.

"When we were talking, there was a moment where Lance was opening up. He said that he wanted to help me find a family. A home. Something inside me just told me that he meant it and he truly did care for me. He truly _loved_ me. I tried to get closer to, you know. But he pulled away and kissed my hand instead. I guess I got the wrong idea." the Altean recounted.

Allura thought back to that moment in the park. Words couldn't describe how safe she felt in that moment with him. How her heart felt like it was going to beat itself right out of her chest. How grateful she was for him being there for her. So yeah, she really wanted to kiss her and given how he's felt for her all of this time, she just assumed that he wanted it, too. And he did, it just happened to be her hand and not her lips. She felt Plachu climb up her shoulder and nuzzle their head against her cheek in comfort, which Allura genuinely appreciated. For the third time that night, the princess sighed and plopped her chin into her hand as she slouched.

"I just wish I knew what happened. If I did something to make him change his mind, I at least want to apologize and make things right."

And that's when it hit her. She quickly sat up straight, face filled with anxiety and horror. The mice looked the same.

"Do you think it's because of Lotor?" she asked in fear. The mice looked at each other for a second before shrugging. _That certainly doesn't help matters_ , she thought.

But the more she thought about it, she honestly wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. When Lotor came along, she had completely brushed Lance aside, aiming to focus on her alchemy and helping Lotor whatever the cause. And somewhere down the line, she started to fall for the prince, and he for her. And sure enough, she let him kiss her. She wanted to let him kiss her. And everything was great…until it wasn't. She was exposed to his true colors and his true motives and let him go. And it hurt, because she wanted to believe that he could never do such a thing. He would never go ahead and kill innocent Alteans. She let him onto her ship. She let him near her paladins. And what's worse, she let him near Lance. He warned her of his intentions, but she chose to stand by Lotor.

He thought he was going to betray them. She chose Lotor.

He thought he was after Voltron. She chose Lotor.

He was in love with her. She chose Lotor.

The guilt she felt was immeasurable. It was bad enough that Lance had to witness her getting close to Lotor. But she knew that if he ever found out about their kiss, it would destroy him. And the last thing Allura wanted to do was put him through any more pain.

"He can't know about this."

* * *

"You know you don't have to stay here, right?"

"I know, but I'm doing it anyway. But don't worry I'll be on my way out soon enough." Keith walked towards Lance, whom was laying down on his bed. He was about to leave Lance's room a few minutes ago until the red paladin began suffering from a tear-induced migraine, so he decided to hang back and look after him until the migraine showed signs of passing. Hence why he was currently walking towards the blue-eyed man with an aspirin pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"Ugh, who made post-cry migraines a thing?" Lance wailed, accepting the pill from Keith's hand. He sat up and popped it into his mouth before taking a huge gulp of the water.

"I don't think the person who was crying intended to get a migraine in the first place." Keith chuckled, walking to the kitchen counter and sitting on its corresponding stool. Lance swerved his head at him to give the half-Galran a scowl as the latter merely smirked. Lance let out a defeated sigh, knowing he wasn't going to win the argument and plopped back onto the bed. Eventually, the room went into silence.

"Hey, man. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." Lance said somberly.

'Lance, you don't need to apologize. You're going through conflicting emotions with Allura. Anybody would break down over that." Keith replied reassuringly. Lance kept his gaze to the ceiling. Even though he already somewhat broke down in front of him earlier, he refused to let him go back to that place again. He was also trying to get to sleep without his head feeling like it's been hit by a sledgehammer.

"Yeah, but-"

"Lance. You're human, You feel what you feel. Don't feel like you have to keep everything down while everyone else brings theirs up." Keith said firmly. He refused to have Lance feel ashamed for breaking down. He may not have been with the team all that time due to him being with the Blades, but he already felt that Lance was the one who was going through the most shit on the ship and would most likely keep it to himself as to not annoy anyone. And Keith would be damned if he had him act the same now that they're back home.

The red paladin was speechless. He didn't expect the leader of Voltron to say something so profound and comforting, especially to him. And in all honesty, he felt as though he had said the words that he had hoped someone had said to him back in the castle when the latter had left and he was left to his own emotional devices.

"I guess you're right." Lance sighed, signaling the return of the original silence that plagued the room. A good ten minutes drifted by before Keith spoke.

"Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to ask one question, and you totally have the right to not answer. Just wanted to let you know." Lance finally turned his head at Keith, intrigued and nervous at the statement. He gazed at Keith, whom was looking back at him, grasping his hands together firmly.

"What is it?" Keith took a breath before he dropped the bomb.

"What are you scared of?"

Lance's eyes widened in surprise. He had almost forgotten that him being scared caused him to not kiss Allura, but he had no idea that Keith was still dwelling on it. He knew it came from a place of genuine concern, which he was grateful for. But he really wished that he had left it alone so that he didn't have to go through those waves of thoughts and emotion again. The thoughts of not doing the one thing he's wanted to do for ages. The feeling of confusion and sheer relief when he didn't go through with kissing the princess. The guilt he felt in going for a kiss with someone when he already had someone else on his mind. And more importantly, the weird longing of the purple eyes that made his chest tight and his heart skip. The same eyes he was looking into now. Hesitatingly, he looked away from Keith as he connected his eyes with the ceiling once more.

"Everything."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! You are now up to date! This is the most recent chapter that I posted a little over a week ago, so now everything is up to date. I hope you guys enjoy! XOX

_"What are you scared of?"_

_"Everything."_

_Lance sat up again, a feeling of uneasiness washing over him. He looked down at his hands,_

_clasping them together as he tried to put his words together. He knew he could be honest with Keith and tell him what he was feeling, especially considering he's been the most transparent with him for the last couple of weeks before now. But he knew that if he said too much at this moment, he might push him away. And for some reason, the thought of that made him feel small. A feeling he NEVER wanted to experience again._

_"It's just…I shouldn't be feeling this way, y'know? I shouldn't be feeling this conflicted. I mean, come on! I've had feelings for Allura for the longest time, you know that. But for all that time, she always brushed that aside, never taking me seriously. Honestly, there were some points that I just thought I should just give up, wipe my hands clean, and focus on…other things." Lance tightened the grip on his hands._

_"But then, she started to notice me a-and acknowledge my feelings. And she actually said yes! I asked her out and she actually said yes! This is the part where I should be happy, right? I should be smiling from ear to ear and screaming from rooftops. And then, I don't know what happened, man. The minute my mom opened that door and Allura walked in, I was just…petrified."_

_"Lance." Keith started. Lance raised his head and looked at his leader's eyes. They didn't hold any pity, thankfully, but they did hold concern and some other emotion he couldn't quite pinpoint. He smiled sadly._

_"Completely, utterly petrified. It's like, I was so ready to sweep her off her feet and kiss her at the end like in the movies. But when it came down to it, I couldn't even deliver! I wanted to do it so badly, and I know that I keep on saying it but I did! But when I tried, it just felt…wrong."_

_Keith raised his eyebrows in shock._

_"Wrong?"_

_"Yeah, like. You know how you're watching a baseball game and the player hits a home run and you somehow end up catching the ball? But then you see the little kid next to you looking at it like it's their whole world so you decide to give it to them instead because at the end of the day you're both happy? You caught it, but the kid gets to keep it. You're not gonna lose sleep over it as long as you know you made someone else's day and you feel good about it. THAT'S how I felt. I got Allura, she wanted to kiss me and I walked away because I WANTED TO. I know I did the right thing by not kissing her half-heartedly s-so why can't I- WHY CAN'T I JUST GO TO SLEEP?!" Lance wailed, clutching his hair as tears began to spill down his cheeks._

_He heard Keith getting up from his stool and walking towards him, but at this point he didn't really care. He couldn't take these feelings of confusion anymore. He wanted nothing more but to take them and throw them to the nearest star system. But he couldn't, not while it meant that there was a chance he would lose something important to him. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps stop._

_"I know why you can't sleep."_

_He felt fingers grip his chin as felt his head get turned upwards. He saw those purple eyes again, looking at him with the same emotions from before, only this time the emotion he couldn't make out was making its presence more known in his gaze. Lance was blindsided and didn't have time to react before Keith leaned in closer to him and opened his mouth._

_"Because you're thinking about me."_

Lance's eyes sprung open as he gasped for air. He felt his hands clutching the blankets on top of him, making him throw them to the side as he quickly sat up. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find some familiarity. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was indeed in his Garrison bedroom, no threat in sight. He allowed himself to breathe a much-needed inhale and somewhat able to release a shaky exhale. He felt beads of sweat forming on his head as he continued to catch his breathe. What the hell was that about? He wiped some of the sweat off of his forehead, surprised to find the droplets even though he knew of their presence earlier.

After a few minutes, he was eventually able to calm down, but that didn't stop the red paladin from feeling the intense whiplash from his dream. How can a dream be real and not real at the same time? Everything at the start of the dream he knew was real. He remembered taking his aspirin. He remembered talking to Keith. He remembered admitting to Keith how afraid he was of everything with Allura and him freaking out, which pretty much made the aspirin he took earlier pointless considering he felt a slight ache in his head. But what played out towards the end of the dream was something that definitely didn't happen, because anyone would remember something as intense as that. No normal person could forget about someone walking up to them, turning their face to them and looking at them as if they had something to prove.

_Because you're thinking about me._

Keith's words caused a searing heat all over Lance's body. He could feel it from his aching head to his shaking hands. He could remember the look in his eyes, looking at him as if he was the most important person in the world. He looked at him like he wanted him to be okay. Like he wanted him to be his. He remembered how before he woke up Keith was leaning into him. Almost like he was going to do what he couldn't. Guilt forced its way back onto Lance's shoulders, though it wasn't as heavy as before.

"I need to cool off." Lance spoke softly, getting up and heading to his bathroom for a much-needed, arctic shower.

* * *

"Well, look who the love dove dropped in." Pidge quipped with a smirk on her face.

"Ha ha, very funny." Lance replied sarcastically as he sat at the table. After showering and getting ready, he had debated on what to do for the remainder of the day considering they weren't under Honerva's threat at the moment. He thought about going to Shiro and asking for advice, but he was already as busy as is and he didn't want to add on to any stress he had. He couldn't go to Veronica because she would just tease him and he was NOT in the mood for it…at all. For a second, he thought about finding Keith, but once he felt the heat in his body again he pushed out of his head, refusing to take TWO cold showers on the same day. Amidst that thought, he remembered that he owed Hunk details about the date, so he decided to just do that. Hence where he was now, in the Garrison cafeteria, sitting next to Pidge, who was working on some calibrations on her laptop and across from Hunk, who was looking through some of his family recipes.

"Soooo, how did things go?" Hunk asked eagerly. Lance shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of things.

"It was good. Got no complaints." he replied, attempting to put up a smile. Unfortunately, that response wasn't good enough for the table.

"Just good?"

"Yeah."

"What did you do that made it 'just good?'" Pidge teased, making Hunk snicker in response. Lance looked between the both of them, wondering why this wasn't the end of it.

"Nothing. It was good. We went to my family's house, had a delicious dinner, went to a nearby park and talked for a bit, and we came back and I dropped her off at her room. That's all." the red paladin recounted, trying his best to hide his frustration. Hunk and Pidge let out a unanimous "hmm," indicating they were satisfied with the answer. Lance breathed out through his nose in relief, the frustration from earlier fading. He saw a recipe card for coconut cake laying out in front of him, and pulled it towards him. He couldn't help but to notice the small yellow drawings splayed around the card. The contents were surrounded by yellow coconuts, smiling suns and yellow swirls. He was so entranced by them that he took him a minute to notice Hunk and Pidge staring at him.

"What?" Hunk and Pidge looked at each other, smirks growing on their faces before they turned back to them.

"Well?" Pidge said, laying her arm on Lance's shoulder. The boy in question tried to hide his annoyance as he furrowed his freshly trimmed brows. Please don't ask what I think you're gonna ask.

"Well what?" Lance responded with gritted teeth.

"Did you kiss her?"

_Fuck…_

"Does it really matter, guys?" Lance responded, slowly getting more and more agitated. Hunk crossed his arms in fake stern yet firm intrigue.

"Uh, yeah. It's your first date with Allura and we want to know EVERYTHING. So did you guys kiss or not?" Lance sighed hard, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

"No."

"WHAT?! Why not?!" Hunk wailed. The red paladin pinched the bridge of his nose as he explained.

"Because, Hunk, it was only our first date. Yes, I've been in love with Allura for what seems like forever but I don't want to do something that scares her off, y'know? Besides, does anyone even kiss on the first date anymore?" Lance shook his head, trying to get back on topic. "The point is, I'm just going with the flow. I just…wasn't ready." Lance lied, though it wasn't a total lie. He wasn't ready to kiss Allura, but there was no way in hell he was going to tell them that it was because of their freaking leader. He felt Pidge remove her arm from her shoulder as she crossed her arms, tilting her head in thought. Hunk did the same.

"Yeah, that makes sense. I get you, dude. But good job, though." Hunk responded reassuringly, sending Lance his big signature smile.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Lance exhaled, smiling back. He was glad that Hunk was backing up a bit. He was always the type of guy who never wanted to cross boundaries, something that Lance was immensely grateful for at the moment.

"Yeah, I get it, too. I just naturally assumed that you would go for it because of Lotor." Pidge stated flatly. Once again, annoyance and frustration rushed through Lance's body.

"Pidge. C'mon-" the paladin started. The green paladin raised her hands in surrender.

"I'm just saying. She and Lotor were getting pretty close to each other back in the Castle of Lions. They were literally side by side 24/7." she pointed out. Hunk nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe if he wasn't, you know, some crazy prince stealing the quintessence of other Altean, he probably would've been her boyfriend by now." Hunk said jokingly, making Pidge giggle in response while Lance was getting more and more agitated. It's bad enough he had to pretty much lie to his friends about why he decided not to kiss Allura, it's a whole other thing that now he needed to deal with hearing about Allura being with Lotor. And just when he had felt that every insecurity that he felt when Lotor was around pretty much vanished when Allura started noticing him. Lance clasped his hands together tightly.

"Okay. I think I see your point, guys." Lance spoke lowly, his teeth gritted. But his statement was simply ignored as Hunk and Pidge continued.

"Did you see the way that Allura was looking at him? I'm telling you, man, I saw some sparks flying!"

"How could she not? With his long flowy hair and his princely charms?"

"Just imagine them working on stuff together and then out of nowhere they just start dancing around the room like in the movies?" Pidge cackled.

3…

"And then he just starts twirling her and then holds her above his head like in that one cheesy dance movie?"

2…

"And then Lotor looks deep into her eyes and says 'Allura, my sweet princess, will you become my Altean dancing queen?"

"'Oh Lotor, my gorgeous bad boy prince! I became your queen the moment I laid my eyes on you!' and then they both lean in and-"

1…

Lance stood up quickly from his seat, slamming his hands hard against the table, making Pidge and Hunk turn their heads at him in shock. He was visibly shaking, head down as his eyes were trained onto the table. He just couldn't take it anymore. Every bad thought and insecurity he had been able to somewhat move past since readjusting to Earth, and it just came back in full force as if he had gotten sucker punched. He felt like he was back on the Castle of Lions, being ignored and brushed aside be everyone, his warnings and himself being forgotten.

Allura walking past him.

Pidge and Hunk ignoring him.

Shiro looking down on him.

Keith abandoning him.

Lance felt himself starting to walk away from his friends. He wouldn't allow himself to hear this any longer. He knew they didn't mean to tease him or bring Lotor back up to him, but that's what it felt like. Lotor and Allura had always been somewhat of a sore spot for him. Something he tried to push to the back of his head to focus on everything else. But it's like every time he tries to forget, it always comes back to bite him. And how could it not. Lotor was everything that he wasn't. Of course, Allura would want him. Hell, if he hadn't gone crazy and was still around, he wouldn't have hesitated to kiss her the way that he did.

"Lance? What's gotten into you?" he heard Pidge shout behind him.

"Yeah, man? You good? D-did we say something wrong?" Hunk asked worriedly. Lance stopped as he approached the doorway. He turned his head towards them, giving them a tired smile.

"No. You said everything right."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to be more action-oriented than the other chapters because I had to rewatch the episode from the season *shudders* in order to write down and describe the scenes that take place so I can put them in the story.
> 
> Also, just an FYI, I barely write action scenes, so bare with me if it's not anything outstanding.
> 
> Enjoy!

_"Lance? What's gotten into you?"_

_"Yeah, man? You good? D-did we say something wrong?"_

_"No. You said everything right."_

_"Wait, Lance?"_

_Lance!_

_Lance!_

_"LANCE!"_

Lance jolted awake in his seat, his heart beating out of his chest. Clearly, being woken up out of his sleep via heart attack was going to be a regular occurrence for the paladin. And it couldn't have come at a worse time considering he and the other paladins were still on a bit of a low after leaving Olkarion, or at the very least what was left of it. Somewhere between them leaving and them being mid-flight, the red paladin ended up dozing off, still somewhat tired from the events from earlier in the day. But life is fair, and he needed to wake up to a voice of panic.

"Lance! Oh thank god! I thought you died of sadness!"

Lance turned his head to the sound of the voice, seeing Hunk's relief-filled face appear on the screen next to him. He took a deep inhale and exhale to calm his heart one last time before finally responding.

"No, but I will eventually die of a heart attack if you do that again!" he chastised lightly. Hunk rubbed his neck awkwardly, embarrassment taking over his face.

"Sorry about that. I just really wanted to apologize for earlier. We didn't mean to upset you." Hunk said quietly, his somber eyes looking at the bottom corner of Lance's screen. Lance furrowed his brows sadly. For some reason he was hoping that he and Pidge would let it go and just let him work himself back up again, but he knew better. Hunk wouldn't function if he knew someone was mad at him and would go out of his way to make sure they knew how sorry he was. He sighed.

"Hey, man. I know you guys didn't do it on purpose. It's just, y'know, kind of a sore spot for me." Lance replied, a tired smile creeping back on his face. "But I'm sorry I worried you."

Hunk looked back up at him hopefully.

"So, we're good?" Lance chuckled.

"Yeah, man. We're good." Hunk's eyes widened as a big smile appeared on his face before sighing in relief.

"Okay, awesome! I'll go tell Pidge the good news!" Hunk said quickly, his screen disappearing from Lance's view a second later. The red paladin crossed his arms as he leaned back in his seat. To say that he was having an all-around stressful few days would be an understatement. First, he botches a date with a girl he's had feelings for since forever. Then, he ends up breaking down to his friend, whom for some reason is feeling REALLY conflicted about; which then cumulates to him breaking down AGAIN in a conversation that he can barely remember. And now, he has to deal with hearing about Lotor again.

Lance let out a heavy sigh. He knew he shouldn't be letting Lotor rile him up like this again. He's gone, out of the picture, stuck in the quintessence field and will never see the light of day. So why does it feel like he still finds a way to taunt him? Why does it feel like he's mocking him? Mocking him on how he'd be able to do the things that he couldn't. Things that made Allura want to get closer with him in the first place. Who knows, maybe he and Allura did have something. Something bigger than Lance could ever hope to be for her. Lance smacked his cheeks, trying to snap himself out of his stupor.

"This day couldn't possibly get any worse."

* * *

"Paladins, get airborne immediately! This is a trap!."

And just like that, it got worse. What was supposed to be a simple rendezvous point became a trap as what was supposed to be the Atlas turned out to be some sort of war ship, ready to take Voltron captive. The lions bolted for the sky as they tried to put as much distance between them and the ship as possible. Suddenly, the lions became dead weight as the ship projected red beam that caused them to drop to the ground, unable to move. Lance quickly tried to make use of the controls, but to no avail.

"It's just like when we were caught by those pirates!" Hunk shouted. Lance slightly panicked at the memory and the thought of it happening again.

"We're about to be captured again!"

"Emergency ejection!" he heard Keith yell. Lance pressed the ejection lever in his lion, making him fly from the lion's head. He landed on the ground momentarily before using the jets on his armor to fly away from the area, Pidge right beside him. He focused on the path before him as he and the other paladins tried to avoid the heavy fire from the ship. He heard Keith and Allura trying to contact the Atlas, but he knew nothing good was going to come out of it. Eventually, they found themselves hiding in a disheveled forest, evaluating the situation before them.

"The Atlas isn't receiving our communications!" Pidge whispered. The paladins turned their heads to where they had left their lions.

"That beam has the Lions pinned." Hunk added.

"We must have been set up. But by whom?" Allura questioned. The paladins waited in silence, wanting to see if the coast was clear to make another break for it. Not even a minute later, they heard the sound of beeping from a distance, starting to close in as the beeps eventually turned rapid.

"Guys, we have incoming. It's closing fast." In a matter of seconds, a drone appeared, not hesitating to start shooting beams at the paladin, whom had already begun to run for their lives. Using their jets, they jumped from branch to branch in another attempt to put distance between the drone and them before starting to run the rest of the way.

"We need to lose it!" Hunk shouted, trying to balance himself on the branch as he ran and cowering in the same breath. Lance added jumps to his steps, barely avoiding the incoming blasts himself.

"Isn't there anything we can do to throw it off our scent?"

"Yeah, I've got an idea, but I need a minute." he heard Pidge shout from the branch above him.

"I'll buy you some time." Hunk shouted back. Once he made sure everyone was behind him, the yellow paladin turned back to the drone as he summoned his cannon, firing in the drone's direction. Lance didn't hesitate in helping his friend, summoning his gun and shooting in the same direction. The blasts from Hunk's cannon targeted the nearby trees, implanting miniature cannons on said trees as added ammunition toward the drone. Lance looked out the corner of his eye and saw Keith and Allura providing cover for Pidge as she tried to shut down the drone's defenses, which luckily didn't take too much time at all.

"Got it!" Pidge shouted triumphantly. "It shouldn't be able to detect us anymore." Lance stopped firing, lifting his gun upward.

"Then let's get out of here!" he replied urgently. A couple of more shots were fired before they ceased, showing the drone was encased in a protective shield. The paladins watched in confusion as the drone flew towards them, moving past them swiftly and slowly. They heard the drone begin its beeping once more, only for it to turn right back around, beeping rapidly, as it once again tried to shoot them dead.

Tears came to Hunk's eyes as all hope of escape turned dim given their current situation.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Hunk cried. Luckily for him, the other paladins had found cover and he didn't hesitate to jump into crevice beside Pidge. Keith pulled up his shield, blocking him and Allura from the oncoming shots next to them.

"I need something to draw its attention!"

"I've got it!" Allura said before running out of the space. She ran up out of the drone's visual range and summoned her whip, making it wrap around the tree that's behind the drone before pulling it. Once the whip was gone, she used all of the strength she could muster to push the tree down, only for the drone to move from underneath it just before the tree could land on it. The drone zoomed out of range above where the Altean and the other paladins stood, but before it could launch another attack, a spinning disc appeared from the smoke and hit the drone point-blank, turning back into its original form of a sword as the drone landed on the ground in a burst of flames. Just as quickly as it landed, so did Keith, whom summoned his sword back into his hand in its bayard form.

"Huh, good job, Keith." Lance remarked as he walked up to the black paladin, smiling. "I mean, I was just about to do that, too, but that's cool." His smile grew as he could sense Keith scowling in annoyance at his remark. Even though he was just teasing him, the red paladin always finds himself amazed at how Keith can get them out of situations. He was taken out of his amazement, however, when Pidge spoke up after him.

"I might be able to hack into it." The green paladin walked past the two as she knelt in front of the destroyed machine, Hunk and Allura joining the circle a second later. Lance, however, stepped back, choosing to lean back on the tree near them. While the drone was still being scanned, he couldn't help but to peek at Keith again from the corner of his eye.

His gaze was focused, looking over Pidge and the drone. His back was straight, arm crossed in mild patience and slight urgency. Lance felt his throat get dry, his chest getting tight. He looked so serious, so determined, so...strong. The kind of strength that was in no doubt instilled in him thanks to Shiro. The kind of strength that the red paladin himself could only hope to achieve. The kind of strength that made him feel safe. Unconsciously, he felt his eye shift past Keith to look at Allura. Her stance was similar to Keith's, the only difference being that she was crouched forward a little with her hands on her hips. Her facial expression was also that of an urgent one, but it didn't hold the same patience and sense of calm that Keith's face held. Nonetheless, he couldn't deny how beautiful and ethereal she looked. He felt the dryness in his throat ease up, along with the tightness in his chest. Lance forced himself to look away just in time to hear Pidge telling Hunk to shut up, so he could only assume it had something to do with the drone that Keith had just destroyed.

"This thing has been locking on to our key encryption protocol that's built into our suits and bayards." Pidge stated.

"How did they get that?" Keith inquired.

"I don't know. Only a genius could do it." Lance thought for a moment.

"Can't we just turn our suits off?"

"Negative. If the drone had our encryption protocol, then so does that cruiser and anyone on it. If we want to avoid detection, we need to lose our suits and our bayards." Pidge replied simply. Lance's eyes widened. At this point, dying by drone blast started to sound pretty good to him. The paladins seemed to hold a similar sentiment.

"Remove our armor? In this place?"

"Has anyone read the atmosphere? Oxygen low, CO2 high. We're not gonna last long. A few hours, tops. We need our suits to survive." Hunk pointed out. Lance moved his eyes to Keith, eager to see his stance on the situation at hand.

"Yeah, at this point, we'll survive longer without them." Keith stated firmly. Lance looked back at the drone.

"So, keep our suits on and risk getting blasted, or take our suits off and live long enough before dying from poisoned air." Lance thought over the options at hand. He was still kind of on the fence about dying by drone firing squad, but now with the new information at hand if they went without their suits, now he wasn't so sure. He kept silent as the others discussed what to do.

"There's no way when can move on without our suits." Allura spoke. "Our helmets supply us with the oxygen we need. Without them, there's no way we can survive out here." Hunk shifted back and forth nervously.

"Yeah, guys. I'm with Allura on this one. I kinda want to get back to the Lions with my lungs intact." Pidge stood up from her original spot, looking at Hunk with mild annoyance.

"Hunk, we all want our lungs intact. But our lungs aren't going to be on our minds if we keep getting blasted. This was just one drone, but we don't know if there's going to be more. And if there is, we can only hold out for so long before they get us. Ditching the armor is our only option." Hunk started to panic.

"Aren't there ANY other options?!"

"If there were, don't you think I would've said it?" Hunk bowed his head in defeat.

"Look, when that drone came up on us, we barely had time to react. If we leave our suits and bayards here, it'll give us time to find help." Keith added.

"But the only way we can even call for help is with our communicators. How will we be able to contact the Atlas if we can't call them?" Allura replied, sounding slightly agitated at the prospect of abandoning the armor.

"Shiro probably knows by now that something happened to us. The Atlas could be looking for us as we speak. Until then, we need to do all we can to survive. And that includes leaving our armor and bayards. We'll pick them up once we're found." The conversation was getting nowhere. Lance sighed heavily. Allura and Hunk were adamant about keeping the armor, but Keith and Pidge were keen on leaving it. He knew they couldn't keep arguing about this forever, knowing any minute they'd be in danger again.

"Lance? What do you think?" Lance raised his head at Allura's urgent voice, being bombarded by the expectant looks of her and the rest of the group.

"We're kinda split down the middle here, so we kinda need a tiebreaker and that's you. So...armor or no armor?" Hunk spoke quickly, trying to fill Lance in. The paladin in question shifted uncomfortably, the gaze from the group making him anxious.

"No pressure, right?" Lance chuckled nervously. Allura walked towards him.

"Lance, this is serious. We need to plan our next steps. Do you want to keep the armor?" she inquired urgently. The red paladin shrunk under her gaze. She looked so serious and agitated and it twisted his gut to know he was contributing to it.

"Allura, that's enough." the princess turned her head to look at Keith, who was clearly getting annoyed at what was transpiring. "I get that you're stressed, but this is his choice. Lay off him for a bit and let him talk."

Lance looked at Keith in surprise. He hadn't expected him to speak up for him, let alone against Allura. He sent him a quick smile in thanks, with Keith nodding his head in acknowledgement. Lance took a deep breath before turning his head back towards the group as he made his decision.

"Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I was fine with idea with getting shot at. But, if Hunk is right and we can manage a few hours of survival, then I think we should try it. It might be hard considering where we're at and what we're up against, but that's why I think we should maintain a good distance away and conserve our energy until absolutely necessary. I think we should leave the armor behind." Lance finished nervously. He looked back at Keith, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Then that settles it. We leave the armor behind and try to get to the Lions. And if we find Atlas, even better." Keith stated, his decision final. Lance, Pidge and Hunk (though hesitantly) nodded in confirmation. Lance turned his head to find Allura, staring back at him in minor disappointment before sighing.

"Okay. But only because you think so." Allura finally relented. Without hesitation, each of the paladins disposed of their armor and bayards, tossing them into a pile in front of them.

"Okay, the armor and bayards are off limits. Now what?"Hunk asked, looking at Keith. The black paladin didn't hesitate to give him an answer.

"Now, we split up." Lance swiftly turned his head towards Keith in disbelief.

"WHAT?!" the team exclaimed collectively.

"Are you insane? First you want us to ditch the armor and now you want to split up?" Hunk yelled in sheer confusion.

"If we split up, it gives us more of a chance to get out of here. You guys need to go and try to retrieve the lions from the cruiser. I'm gonna try and lead whatever comes away from you guys. I'll meet back up with you guys once that's taken care of."

"Keith. Going on your own in this environment is dangerous. You can't go by yourself." Allura warned, not liking the idea at all. Lance looked at her briefly before turning towards his leader.

"She's right. Because I'm going with you." Lance said firmly. Now it was Keith's turn for his eyes to widen, along with Pidge and Allura looking at Lance in sheer shock while Hunk proceeded to grip his hair and walk in circles in what could only be described as the beginnings of a mental breakdown.

"Lance, no. You need to go with the others and try to get to the Lions." Keith replied in an authoritative tone.

"I can't do that. You're trying to navigate in this random forest, low on oxygen, with NO armor with a few good hours top before something bad happens. And I know you, if something or someone comes at you, you come back at them 100%. But given where we are, that's the last thing I want you do. Besides, I'm your right hand, remember? Where you go, I go, too." Lance replied, a new sense of determination filling his chest. Keith felt the authority he had turn dim. He knew Lance meant well and wanted to protect him, something Keith would do in a heartbeat if the roles were reversed. But he knew that if given the circumstances, if something happens to Lance he wouldn't forgive himself. So as much as he wanted him to stay, he needed to keep him away. Or at least try to. Keith let out a deep exhale.

"Lance, you don't have to do this." Keith said quietly. Lance didn't budge.

"Actually, I think I do. And um, I'm not asking for your permission. No offense." Lance added quickly towards the end. _Yeah, he's not backing down_ , Keith thought in defeat.

"Okay, fine. But for the record, I don't approve of this." the black paladin warned slightly. Lance smirked in response.

"I'm aware." Lance replied teasingly. Keith gave him a small smirk of his own before forcing his face back into a serious expression. He looked towards the team once again.

"Okay. Lance and I are going to try and hold off whatever comes our way. You guys go and try to retrieve the Lions from that cruiser. Hopefully the Atlas can pick up on our distress calls and try to trace our location." the black paladin instructed in finality. Before they split up, Hunk didn't hesitate to grab Lance's hand and shake it with ferocity as tears streamed down his face.

"You're a good man, bro. I'll never forget you!" Hunk wailed. Lance gave a small smile at Hunk's behavior.

"Come on, man. Have at least some faith in me." the red paladin joked. Once Hunk finally let go of his hand, Pidge came up next to him and punched his shoulder lightly.

"Be careful out there." she said with a nervous smile.

"Thanks."

"Okay, we should get going." Allura stated boldly before walking in the direction of the lions, Pidge and Hunk trailing behind her. Lance couldn't help but feel bad. He knew that she was adamant about them keeping the armor on, but he felt as though going without the armor was their best bet. At least that's what he hoped the issue was, and not because she expected him to follow suit because of how he felt for her. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't feel bad." Keith started, keeping his grip on Lance's shoulder firm in a display of comfort. "You chose what you thought was best. Don't feel bad for stating it." Lance turned his head to face him, sighing.

"I know. Thanks." Lance replied, giving Keith a reassuring smile. Keith moved his hand to Lance's back, gently directing him to where they were going.

"Let's get to it."

* * *

"Are we sure the Lions are this way?" Pidge asked stressfully.

"Every direction looks the same." A solid hour passed since Hunk, Pidge, and Allura had started their trek to retrieve the Lions, but so far the group had made no progress as they continued to find themselves surrounded by dead trees and hanging branches, with no Lions in sight. And since they had no form of mapping their location, they had to depend on instinct.

"And that's why it's important to walk in this never-ending straight line." Pidge deadpanned in response. "We'll reach them sooner or later if we keep at it. Right, Allura?" the green paladin turned to ask the princess, only to receive a despondent expression on her face as the Altean was clearly deep in thought.

"Allura?" Pidge waved her hand in front of Allura's face, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Y-yes?" Allura stammered. Hunk and Pidge paused in their tracks as they looked at Allura with concern.

"Oh no, is the oxygen getting to you?" Hunk asked hurriedly.

"What? No, no, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind." She answered truthfully. Pidge and Hunk shared a knowing look with each other.

"And by that I'm guessing you mean Lance?" Pidge asked slowly. Allura sighed as she nodded. Pidge gave her a small smile.

"I don't think you have to worry about him too much. He's with Keith. He's not going to let anything happen to him." Pidge said reassuringly.

"I know. It's just...I've never seen him be so adamant about something like that. The way he went after Keith like that." Allura replied, thinking back to how Lance offered to be by Keith's side without hesitation. Almost as if he belonged by his side. The two paladins hummed in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, that was pretty crazy. But given where we're at, he probably has the right idea." Pidge shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at Hunk as he began sniffling.

"He's gonna be Keith's right-hand to the very end. I'm so proud of him!" Hunk cried in happiness before Pidge slapped the back of his head, telling him to get it together as they continued walking. They didn't take into account, however, that Allura was still stuck in her tracks, arms crossed. She knew that she had nothing to worry about. Lance was a skilled paladin who could handle himself if need to be and if he's with Keith, who in certain aspects is just as skilled if not more, he'll be well protected. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to this. Any other time in circumstances like this, Lance would voice his concern, but he would choose to stay with the group rather than split up. So Lance volunteering himself to go with Keith was surprising to say the least.

Not only did this fact surprise her, it worried her. Ever since they went on their date, she began to take notice of the small ways Lance started to act around her. The way he left after he dropped her off. How panicked he looked when he sped-walked away. Even during the briefings to head to Olkarion he was different. He was quiet and reserved, as if he had so much plaguing his mind. She hoped it was just because of something like exhaustion or lack of sleep, but after what just happened, the signs were clear as day.

"Allura? You coming?" She looked up finally, looking at Hunk and Pidge who were a good few feet away from where she stood. She faked a smile as she took her first steps.

"Yes."

* * *

"Okay. I'm really starting to question how your brain works, sometimes."

"You didn't question it before we left." Unlike the others, who caught themselves going in a straight circle, Keith and Lance found themselves going upward, more specifically towards the top of the planet's somewhat active volcano. Keith figured that if he wanted to keep whoever was after the team off their trail, they'd need to lead them to a location where they wouldn't pose a threat. Lance was on board with idea, that is until Keith suggested bringing his armor to provide a ruse once they got to their designated point. And as expected, Lance got tasked with carrying it.

"Yeah? Well that was before you decided to bring your armor into the mix!" Lance raised his voice in annoyance.

"Again, Lance. It's all part of the plan." Keith answered nonchalantly. Lance sighed. It was bad enough they had to walk (and sometimes climb) slowly in order to conserve their energy and oxygen, but that's kind of a hard task when you're carrying a bunch of armor. He was so busy on thinking about hitting him with his helmet that he didn't realize that he had bumped into Keith's open hand, outstretched to him.

"What?" Lance asked. He wasn't given an answer as Keith took his helmet and chest plate from his hands, leaving him to hold his leg gear. Lance instantly felt some of the weight get lifted off of him. He sighed in relief.

"Took you long enough. But thanks." he said gratefully. Keith hummed a "your welcome" as they started walking again, this time being side by side. Lance felt his throat get dry again as he locked his eyes on the rocks before him. Realization finally dawned upon him. He was with Keith. Alone. NEAR A VOLCANO. He could already hear Veronica saying how this was like the YA romance novels she read back in during her teenage years. He felt himself starting to heat up, but it wasn't because of his sweat forming from the grueling walk or the heat festering beneath his every step on the rocky path. He had felt this heat before: it was the heat he felt It was the same heat that he felt when he had that dream about Keith, the same one that was so intense he needed to take a cold shower. It still bugged him how he couldn't remember what actually happened before he fell asleep and the only thing that he could remember was Keith leaning in to do...whatever he was about to do. The red paladin didn't want to ask him what had happened, but sooner or later he's going to end up having a heat stroke and he was not about to let that happen.

"H-hey Keith?" Lance asked nervously.

"Yeah?" Keith replied, eyes still trained on the cliffs ahead.

"Remember that conversation we had in my room after my date?" Keith's eyes instantly moved to peer at Lance with mild suspicion. He nodded in response.

"Well, I don't really remember what happened. It's all a blur. I-I was just wondering if you could help me fill in the blanks." Lance replied truthfully. At this, Keith fully turned his head toward the red paladin in shock.

"You really don't remember?" Lance shook his head somberly.

"No. And when I do try, let's just say it's replaced with the wrong memory." Keith nodded his head in understanding. Before he answered, he placed his helmet and chest plate on the ledge in front of them, gesturing for Lance to do the same with the leg guards. Once he did that, he heaved himself up onto the ledge, taking a breath after doing so. He then reached out for Lance, taking his hand and pulling him up swiftly. Keith then stood up with Lance, finally prompting him to let go of his hand.

"When we were talking, you started getting upset again. You were talking about how you shouldn't be feeling bad about pulling away from Allura but then you mentioned how you couldn't stop thinking about it." Keith started. Lance nodded quickly in response.

"Yeah, yeah. THAT I remember. It's just what happened afterwards that's a blur." Lance responded.

"Well, when you started crying again, I walked up to you and told you not to cry because you would make your migraine worse. I guess that made you cry more, so I sat down on the bed next to you to help calm you down and you just..." Lance's heart started to beat out of his chest at the pause.

"Just what?"

"Just...lunged at me." Lance's eyes widened in fear and embarrassment.

"LUNGED HOW??!!" he exclaimed. Keith winced at his tone, raising his hands in front of him in a "calm down" motion, causing Lance to cower in nervousness.

"By lunged, I meant you just hugged me and started bawling. So I just sat there and told you how everything was going to be okay. Eventually, you fell asleep and I left once I made sure you were good." Keith shrugged as he finished explaining, starting to walk once again with the flustered boy right on his tail. Lance felt his face heat up at the explanation. He was partially relieved at the fact Keith didn't kiss him, but in the same breath, the fact that he held him as he cried just make the heat he felt increase twice as much. Nonetheless, he appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you." Lance breathed out.

"It wasn't an issue or anything, but-" Keith started to brush off the gesture, but Lance wasn't having any of it.

"No, thank you. For standing by me. With everything that's been going on with the team and everything, even before we got back to Earth, you're the only one who seems to care about how I'm doing." Lance spoke wholeheartedly. Keith's eyes widened at the confession. He never realized that Lance had felt this level of loneliness and it hurt his heart to know that he had a part to play in it. The Galran looked away in guilt, but it didn't last long.

"There." Keith pointed to a giant set of rocks in front of them. "That's where we'll set up the armor, come on." The paladins rushed to the behind the rocks, setting up the armor to simulate them sitting. They stood back to make sure that it was sturdy, which it was.

"You know that's not true right?" Lance raised his eyebrow in confusion as he turned to look at Keith, who was still looking down at his armor.

"I'm not the only one who cares about you, Lance. The whole team cares about your wellbeing, Allura especially. I don't know what or who made you feel like this, but I want you to know that-" Keith didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Lance started to cough. He had a couple of quick second coughs, but as he tried to tell him he was fine, he started coughing even more.

"Lance! What's wrong?" Keith asked worriedly, brows furrowed in concern.

"I'm fine. I think the smoke is making its way in my lungs." Lance replied raspily as he crouched over in an attempt to catch his breath. The Cuban teen quickly raised his hand to his mouth as his coughs turned violent. Keith rushed over to him and placed his hands on his arms, keeping him from falling forward.

"I don't think it's the smoke." Keith said grimly. He then took Lance's arm and placed it over his shoulder, leading him to another set of rocks farther away where there was less smoke. Keith sat him down gently against the fixture as Lance continued to cough. The black paladin kneeled in front of him in concern.

"Lance! Talk to me!" Keith demanded urgently. Lance finally released his hand from his mouth and looked down at it, causing his eyes to widen in fear. Keith grabbed his hand and pulled it into his view, only to see a red stain covering the palm. The black paladin had no time to panic before he heard footsteps coming from both directions. After signaling Lance to stay quiet, he peeked above the rocks to see an armed Galra rebel searching for them. He gritted his teeth as he turned back to Lance.

"I'm gonna go over there and distract them. You stay here and try not to cough so loud, okay?" Keith whispered. Lance shook his head.

"No way. I'm helping you. I promise to fall back if the coughs get worse."

"Fine, but only if they come here. If not, stay put and don't try to save me." Keith got up and started to leave but not before Lance grabbed him by the elbow. Keith turned back to face him as he struggled to talk.

"What's wrong?" Keith asked quickly.

"Come back." Lance rasped out, tears brimming in his eyes from the pain. Keith placed his hand over Lance's in comfort.

"You, too." Keith replied, before finally getting up and running to the sound of the footsteps. Lance took as much of a deep breath as he could before he turned over, keeping an eye out for any sign of attack. It didn't take long for him to see what Keith saw earlier, the Galra rebel with their gun ready to shoot. He watched as she fell for the decoy, rushing up on the abandoned armor only to be left in confusion as the armor held no paladin within it. A small smile crept on his face as he saw Keith sneak behind them out of view and deliver a good blow, knocking them out. But just as he was about to get up and meet with him, the sight of another figure stopped him in his tracks.

* * *

Keith panted as he climbed up the nearest ledge away from the rebel, pulling himself up onto his knees. He didn't expect the punch he gave her to make him lose energy. He raised his head in attempt to look for Lance, only to be met with a tall figure towering over him, The black paladin raised himself up on one knee in anticipation. Before he could ask them for their identity, they ended up taking off their helmet, releasing a hissing sound before colliding to the ground. He was met with a familiar face, though they have been scarred on one side of their face, a pupil missing.

"Zethrid?" Keith asked aloud, shock evident on his face.

"You took Ezor from me!" Zethrid shouted, before attempting to land a blow to Keith's crouched figure. Keith rolled out from beneath her, narrowly avoiding the blow. He stood up, taking out his Mamora blade from behind him as it turned into its sword form.

Zethrid ran towards him as she attempted to land a punch, only for Keith to dodge and attempt to swing at her with his blade. She avoided it, however, and ended up punching a rock in an attempt to land another punch on Keith. After a couple of missed slashes from Keith, Zethrid took a hold of his wrist, tripping him off balance and flinging him, causing him to roll a few feet away from her. Using this to her advantage, she landed a good couple of blows on the half Galran, making him fall down a steep trail of stone.

Seeing the commotion, Lance slowly got up, trying to keep his balance. He proceeded to release a couple more violent coughs before they ceased, causing him to grip his side. He slowly took shaky steps as he attempted to make his descent down. The more steps he took, the blurrier his vision became. _Need to...keep...going,_ Lance thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard Keith shouting from a distance, clearly in pain. The red paladin picked up his pace into a run, skipping steps and jumping off stones to reach them. He was about to make another jump before a stabbing pain pierced his lungs, causing him to trip and fall onto the ground, releasing another round of bloody coughs. He felt his muscles shake beneath him as he attempted to sit up, his body slowly starting to fail him. _Can't...I can't._ Lance looked ahead of him, only to see Zethrid hoisting Keith by his neck as he held onto her wrist in pain. He noticed that he made progress distance wise, but not enough to stop this. Finally, on shaky knees, he began to crawl. _I can't...I can't lose._

He gripped the ground beneath him as he crawled forever, the pounding within his head and burning within his sense excruciating. His lungs continued to burn and sizzle as he let out another string of coughs, the pain within his throat making him want to throw up. At this rate, Lance attempted to ignore the pain and merely focused on his breathing, trying to inhale as much oxygen as he could given the little amount of oxygen there was in the area. After what seemed like years, he finally made it to another fixture of rocks that rested upon the edge of the cliff he was on. With the remaining energy he could muster, he stood up and took in the scene before him. That's when he saw him: Keith, being held in a chokehold by Zethrid, whom was being confronted by Acxa and Shiro.

"How did they-?" Lance rasped out before looking up. And sure enough, the Atlas and two other Garrison jets floated above the four. The exhausted paladin looked down back at Keith. He couldn't ignore how he was writhing in pain as Zethrid held him in place. He couldn't ignore how any wrong move by Acxa and Shiro could cause Zethrid to easily snap his neck. He couldn't help but to notice the lava below them and how close they were to the edge. His view of them became shaky as he started to tilt from side to side due to the lack of oxygen. But as much as he wanted to collapse, he couldn't. Not while Keith was facing death's door. He felt himself bite his lip and he could've sworn he saw Zethrid tighten her grip and Keith's face contort in pain. He began taking short, sharp inhales in anger as he felt his lungs shrivel, his head pound, and his throat close. He couldn't take it anymore. _I can't...I-I won't. I won't lose him!_

A shout snapped Lance out of his episode as he looked at what happened before him. There was Zethrid, laying on the ground behind Keith as she gripped her arm in pain. Thankfully, Keith was released from her grasp without a scratch and could only look back at her before he looked up at him in sheer shock. Lance shifted his eyes to the side as he caught a glimpse of Acxa and Veronica, who were looking back at him in the same manner as Keith. Shiro was nowhere to be found. The red paladin finally looked down to see what they were staring at: his bayard rifle in his hands, smoke coming out as if it had been fired recently. He felt his hands begin to shake as he realized what he just did as he looked up back at Keith. He summoned his bayard. He shot Zethrid. Lance's eyes turned dim as he felt himself finally collapse, but not before hearing someone call his name.

"LANCE!"

* * *

"Lance? Lance? Can you hear me?"

Lance's eyes squinted as he adjusted to the light blazing down on him. When he opened them, he waited a couple of seconds for them to adjust to the two figures above him before. Luckily, he didn't need to wait long because one of them spoke.

"Hey. Take it easy." Lance turned his head to find Shiro, looking down at him in sheer relief with a relieved smile to match. His eyes moved past him as his eyes focused on Allura. She looked just as relieved as Shiro, only this time she had tears in her eyes. Lance allowed himself to smile at him. It gave him comfort knowing that there was someone at his bedside making sure that he was okay.

"Good to see you, guys." Lance spoke quietly, his throat dry. It no longer felt swollen or burned, but that didn't erase the slight soreness he still felt.

"Come on. Let's sit you up." Shiro stated, reaching for Lance's arm. Allura ran around to the the other side of the bed as he grabbed Lance's other arm before they both raised the paladin up slightly. Shiro took the time to readjust the pillows so that Lance could lay against him, making him look at the captain in appreciation. It took Lance a minute to realize that he was wearing an oxygen mask, which probably explained the newfound energy in his lungs that helped him breathe like he did before. Allura grabbed Lance's hand as he looked towards her.

"I'm so glad you're alright. When Veronica told me what had happened, I started to lose my mind." Allura spoke In relief, a faint blush gracing her features. Lance shifted in his bed as he lowered his mask.

"Wait. What happened? Where's Hunk and Pidge?" Lance asked in concern of his friends. Allura placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"They're alright. The Atlas found us first, so they treated all of us for any breathing issues. Once they got cleared, they went back for the Lions." Lance leaned back slightly, relieved to know that they were okay. But he still didn't feel at ease. That's when everything hit him at once. He sat up quickly in his bed, his head twisting in different directions as he scanned the room.

"Keith! Where is he? Shiro, where is he? Zethrid had him a-and she was going to- she was going to kill him! Is he okay?! D-did you see him?! Did he-" Lance began to wail, causing Allura to step back in surprise while Shiro sat on the bed next to him, gripping his shoulders and shushing him as he tried to get him to calm down.

"He's fine, Lance. You saved him." Shiro said reassuringly. The red paladin looked at him in shock. So it really did happen the way he saw it. He saved him. He saved Keith. For the first time today, Lance let out a sigh of relief as tears began to cascade down his face. He threw his face into his hands, trying to keep himself from sobbing. He didn't pull away when he felt Shiro pull him closer as he rubbed his back in comforting circles. _He's alive. He's alive. He's alive._

"Lance?"

Lance's head shot up as he looked at the sound of the voice. He was actually here, standing In the doorway nervously as if he was worried about interrupting something sacred. He was no longer in his paladin suit, instead back in his Garrison attire. He had a smile of relief on his face, which were a contrast from the scratches that plagued his face from his fight with Zethrid. But Lance couldn't afford to care: because he was here.

"K-Keith." Lance breathed out slowly, smiling in relief and overall joy. Shiro looked between the two with a knowing look as he turned to look at Allura.

"We should probably give them some privacy." Shiro spoke quietly to the princess. Allura nodded quickly with a small smile of her own as she walked back around the bed, joining Shiro's side as they began their walk out of the hospital room. The captain let the princess exit the room first, but not before squeezing Keith's shoulder before he made his exit. Once they were gone, Keith couldn't help but to stuff his hands awkwardly in his pockets now that they were alone. He let out a shrug before forming an awkward smile.

"Hi." he spoke quietly. Lance's smile grew bigger as newfound tears started to brim.

"Hey." Slowly, Keith walked towards the bed, taking deep breaths through his nose as he did so. Once he reached him, he gently sat down next to him in the same spot where Shiro was as he leaned in, arms crossed on top of his knee. The amount of relief he felt at seeing Lance was immeasurable. Back on the volcano planet, he was horrified to see the state that Lance was in: weak, disheveled, low on oxygen, and on the brink of breath. After he was free from Zethrid and saw him collapse, he couldn't help but to yell out his name in horror. He picked up his sword and was about to run and get him, but the lack of oxygen caught up with him and he was ushered onto the Atlas by a concerned Veronica to be given an oxygen mask while Shiro tended to Lance and carried him onto the ship. Once Lance was admitted into the medical bay, he went with Hunk and Pidge to retrieve the Lions, who were being guarded from other rebels by Garrison troops. He couldn't help but to stomp his foot in anxiety as he retrieved Black and carried Red in her jaw back to the ship bay. And now here he was.

"So, how do you feel?" he asked hesitantly. Lance exhaled as the newfound tears he felt finally spilled over onto his cheeks. His feelings of relief overwhelmed him as he launched himself into Keith's arm and sobbed. All the fear and sadness from the day was slowly being taken out of his body with every hiccup as he rested his head on Keith'c chest, sobbing more with every heartbeat he heard. Keith looked down at the sobbing boy in bewilderment.

"You came back." Lance hiccuped. His knuckles felt numb as he tightened his grip on the fabric of Keith's uniform. Any other time, he would feel embarrassed to be breaking down in front of him like this. But he knew this song and dance and he knew that Keith wouldn't judge him for opening up like this. And with everything that just happened, he just wanted to cherish the fact that he didn't lose him. And he hoped to God that he never would.

Keith smiled at the sobbing paladin, bringing his hand up to hold the back of his head and press the boy further into his chest. His other arm reached around Lance's back, helping to hold him closer. The black paladin closed his eyes as he relished in knowing that this man was alive. He was alive and breathing and he was still going to be able to hear his voice. He let out a shaky, watery chuckle.

"Of course I did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now approaching the halfway point of the Void series. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this and I'm so happy to see that you guys are enjoying! I can't wait to write more of the series!
> 
> Thanks for reading! XOX


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, after twelve straight grueling days of typing (even during Thanksgiving), I present to you this newest chapter!
> 
> We are officially two chapters away from the halfway point!

_Lance's eyes burned as he ran through the smoke, taking in the intense heat. He scanned the area frantically, trying to find any semblance of his leader, but to no avail. He halted his running as he felt another round of coughs emerging from his throat, bringing his hand up to his mouth while doing so. After a minute, he finally released his hand from his mouth, his eyes recognizing the small red puddle that formed within his palm. Within seconds, his head began to pound as he began to walk on shaking legs. As soon as he took the first few steps, he heard a pained yell shout through the smoke._

_"Keith..." Lance rasped out, trying to slowly speed up his pace. He felt tears fall from his eyes as his vision slowly began to blur. However, he noticed a tall figure in the distance coming towards him. He could make out the outline of their broad shoulders and protruding ears. The figure began to chuckle as they started to come closer._

_"Where's your black paladin now?" the figure chuckled menacingly. Lance's remaining breath caught in his throat. Zethrid. The red paladin wretched forward as he let out another violent cough, not surprised at the copper taste filling his mouth. He tried to regain his breath as he began to take long strides backwards in an attempt to distance himself from Zethrid, but that didn't stop him from hearing her laugh in wicked satisfaction. Using all the strength he could muster, he summoned his bayard into its rifle form, using all the energy he could muster to make sure his the aching muscles in his arms didn't cause him to drop it. He held his breath and made himself still as Zethrid's figure suddenly stopped._

_"It doesn't matter what you have against me...YOU'RE NEXT!" she shouted as she lunged at the red paladin. Lance clenched his eyes shut as he instinctively set his finger on the trigger and fired. He felt the vibrations from the gun spread through his bones as he fell to his knees, exhausted and worn. He slowly opened one of his eyes to see that Zethrid's figure had completely vanished, almost as if she was never there. The red paladin struggled once more to catch his breath, a plethora of tears streaming down his face. He was in so much pain he didn't recognize the sound of footsteps coming from behind him._

_"Lance."_

_Lance turned his head quickly toward the sound of the voice, his one eye widening slightly as the smoke around the red paladin began to clear away and exposed the holder of the voice that spoke his name. It was Keith, and aside from the few scratches that plagued his face he was okay. For the first time in what felt like hours, Lance took in a deep breath, not paying attention to how quickly he rose to his feet to look at him or how the searing flames that were consuming his lungs earlier seemed to evaporate into nothing. His face was truly that of a fish out of water as he gazed upon his leader._

_"You came back." Lance exhaled in relief, his voice clear. He felt that familiar heat flow through his body as Keith smiled._

_"Of course I did."_

* * *

Lance sighed as he began to stir in his bed, still feeling the remnants of the heat that continued to flow through his very being. He smiled to himself, allowing himself to relish in the heat that remained before he felt the blare of the ceiling lights on his eyelids. He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightness slowly. As he dragged his hand down his face, he was slightly surprised to make contact with plastic covering the better part of his nose and mouth before remembering what it was.  Relax, it's just the oxygen mask.  He slowly started to sit up in his bed and laid back against it, relishing in the calm the silence brought him after such a comforting dream. It would soon be short-lived, however, when the door to his hospital room opened.

"Oh good! You're awake!" Allura said in surprise. Lance's eyes widened in shock as he quickly sat himself up in his bed and in turn making himself slightly dizzy.

"Allura? What are you doing here?" Lance asked somewhat cooly, trying to play off his earlier reaction.

"I was just peeping in to check on you before meeting with Coran, but since you're awake I want to talk to you." Allura stated simply, closing the door behind her and walking around Lance's hospital bed before sitting herself down in the chair next to him. Lance could only look at the princess in confusion as any sign of peace quickly began to flush out of the room.

"So, what's up?" Lance asked cautiously. Allura clasped her hands together firmly as her expression changed into a serious one.

"Why did you do that?" Allura asked. The recovering paladin raised an eyebrow in confusion, clearly not understanding the question, "Why did you separate yourself from the team like that?" she asked. Lance kept his look of confusion as he began to speak.

"What are you talking about? I didn't separate myself from the team." Lance responded.

"You were supposed to go with me, Pidge, and Hunk. By leaving, you exposed yourself to danger!" Allura replied, slightly raising her voice. Lance stayed calm as he continued to talk calmly to the princess.

"We were already in danger the moment we landed. And besides, it's not like I went out on my own. I was with Keith the entire time."

"And look how that turned out." Lance recoiled from Allura, looking at her incredulously. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lance asked, agitation slowly building. Allura sighed, covering her eyes with her hand

"Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore." Allura said. Annoyance slowly started to bubble in Lance's chest, a far cry from the peace and serenity he had felt when he first woke up. He would probably come to regret asking further than this, but at this moment he could ho early care less.

"Yes it does. You clearly have something you want to say so just say it." Lance pushed. Allura turned back to look at him, a look of slight anger reaching her eyes.

"If Keith had just convinced you to stay with us, the only thing you would have to worry about is exhaustion and slight oxygen loss. Instead, not only were you almost depleted of oxygen, but the smoke from the volcano caused you to cough up blood and pass out! We were worried that your lungs had collapsed!" Lance closed his eyes and removed his mask from his face, breathing deeply in annoyance before opening his eyes to stare at the covers on top of him.

"So you're saying this is Keith's fault?" the red paladin asked with gritted teeth.

"I'm not saying that. I'm trying to say that even though he was there, he wasn't able to protect you." Allura responded after a moment.  That  was the last straw for the red paladin. He could take her being mad at him for leaving. He could take her being mad at him for almost getting himself killed. But there was no way in hell he was going to take her implying Keith was at fault for him being in his hospital bed. He scoffed as a result.

"But he did protect me! He looked out for me the entire time we were going up the volcano! He looked after me when I first started feeling the effects of the smoke! He even led me away from the oncoming rebels!" Lance raised his voice. Allura looked at him in shock, not expecting him to respond like this. But she still wanted to get her point across as she leaned in to him.

"And he's fine, Lance! He came out fine!"

"Fine? He was almost beaten to a pulp by Zethrid and was put into a chokehold! Sure, I was in a bad spot but so was he! Hell, none of us came out fine!" Allura stood up from her seat, her anger and concern obvious.

"I know that! But you got the worse of it! All because-"

"ALLURA!" Lance shouted desperately, but not before releasing a hard couple of coughs. Allura held her tongue as she looked at him in concern and regret. The Altean went to reach out for him but Lance held out his hand, signaling for her not to as he quickly put his mask back on as he tried to regain control of his breathing. She looked down at the floor in shame as she slowly sat back down into her chair. She was embarrassed at the way she reacted. She knew it wasn't Keith's fault for Lance getting hurt, but she couldn't help but to think about what could've happened if Lance didn't make it. If the Atlas didn't get to them in time. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't realized that Lance had ceased coughing.

"Allura, listen. I get that you were probably scared for me going off on my own away from the group like that. But I'm telling you this now, choosing to go with Keith was MY decision, no one else's. I went with Keith because I'm his right-hand and I wanted to make sure that he was okay. And yeah, he could probably take care of himself, but I knew he had my back." Allura sighed once more as she finally raised her head, looking into Lance's eyes.

"I know he did. I'm sorry, Lance. I just really didn't want you to get hurt. When I saw Shiro carry you onto the Atlas like, I-I was horrified." she said grimly. Lance looked at her sadly.

"So was he." he whispered, remembering the way Keith had screamed his name after he shot Zethrid.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. I know you were doing the right thing when you chose to leave the armor and go with Keith. With everything going on with the Alteans, Honerva, and everything in between, I've been acting in ways that I shouldn't be. I'm truly sorry." Allura apologized, regretting almost everything she had said to him. Lance gave her a small smile in response.

"Thanks." Allura smiled back as she reached forward and grabbed his hand. Lance blushed at the unexpected action as he looked down at their connected hands before looking back up at the princess, whom was also looking at their hands.

"It's just, you've been so distant lately. I was getting worried." Allura said quietly before looking back up at Lance with a pitiful expression. Lance gulped, anxiety slowly overcoming him as she kept a firm grasp of his hand.

"S-Sorry. I-I didn't mean to scare you." Lance stammered. "I've j-just had a lot on my mind so I've just been a bit out of it." Allura hummed in response. The red paladin shifted awkwardly. Any other time, he would be ecstatic at the thought of Allura holding his hand and worrying about him. But right now, he couldn't help but to feel the opposite. Allura was the one taking action while he was the one who was keeping his distance. 

"I understand. But please know you can talk to me about anything I care about you, Lance. And...I need you." Allura replied, staring at Lance longingly as she leaned in more. Lance could only stare at her in awe of her boldness, but he was secretly hoping she wouldn't go any further than this. Luckily, she wouldn't be able to thanks to a couple of knocks on the door before it was opened.

"Lance? You up?" Lance turned his head quickly to the source of the voice, releasing his hand from Allura's grip to straighten himself up as best he could in his bed.

"Keith! What's up, man?" Lance asked quickly, his voice carrying a slight tone of elation. Allura was blindsided at Lance's change in demeanor. Not too long ago, he was still somewhat distant and had just come down from their argument. And now, it was almost as if he had been revived with a newfound energy vigor. She was relieved to see him this way, but that didn't stop her from thinking how she wished it had been because of her.

"I just wanted to check in on you." Keith responded, taking a couple of steps in to the room before stopping, his expression holding nervousness but still trying to appear calm. Allura looked between the two of them before getting up from her seat, making her way towards the door.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it." Allura said quickly, looking back at Lance briefly before turning back. Keith moved to the side to allow her to fit through the door frame, resulting in her whispering a quick 'thank you' to the Black Paladin before closing the door. She leaned her back on it for a brief moment, allowing the events of what just happened to sink in. She took a deep breath before getting off the door and walking away to meet with Coran.

* * *

Keith looked at the door briefly before turning to Lance.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything. You seemed like you two were talking about something important." Keith inquired, hoping he hadn't made things awkward with his newfound presence. Lance shook his head quickly, waving his hand in a nonchalant motion.

"Oh, no! Not at all! It was kind of finishing up, anyway." Lance replied reassuringly. "It's good to see you." Keith felt heat flow through the back of his neck as he sent the Cuban boy a small smile.

"It's good to see you, too." Lance sent him a smile of his own as he made a motion with his hand towards the chair next to him. Keith hesitated for a moment before walking around the bed. Lance allowed himself to lean back comfortably in his bed as Keith took his seat, placing his arms on top of his knees as he leaned towards him. Lance couldn't help but to focus on Keith as he looked at the floor awkwardly, almost as if he was nervous to be there. It was kind of endearing, to be honest. It was a nice change of pace to be a part of a somewhat comfortable silence rather than be in a suffocating vex of arguing. After a few moments, Keith finally looked up at the red paladin.

"So, did you sleep okay?" Keith asked hesitatingly. Lance looked down for a moment before looking back at Keith's vibrant purple eyes, eyes that were relaxed and yet held small amounts of concern.

"Yeah, though I did have a dream about everything that happened." Lance shrugged nervously. Keith felt his chest tighten at the statement. He knew it would be virtually impossible for anyone to not think or dream about something as traumatic as that, but he at least wanted to be hopeful for him having some sort of peace while he was recovering. Keith sighed before putting his hand on Lance's shoulder, holding it firmly.

"Hey, it's over now." Keith reassured, his voice a good octave lower than usual. "You're gonna be okay." Lance couldn't help but to blush. He didn't realize the breath he had been holding until he exhaled at his words, the heat from when he woke up slowly returning. That sense of calm and security. The comfortability in his bones. The peace in the atmosphere. The peace and security that only Keith could give him. Lance smiled at him.

"I know, man. But don't worry. It wasn't as bad as you think it was. It was less of a nightmare and more of a memory, if that makes sense." Lance explained. Keith nodded, showing he understood.

"So, you're good in the mental sense?" 

"Yeah, I think so." Lance replied, nodding his head firmly. Keith smiled in relief, removing his hand from Lance's shoulder. Lance couldn't help but to miss his grip.

"Well, that's good. And physically?"

"I'm okay. My lungs are no longer deep fried in smoke so I guess that's a good thing." Lance joked, causing Keith to release a small chuckle at the quip. "Although, I did give myself a coughing fit earlier when I took off my mask." 

Keith raised his brow in confusion.

"Why the hell did you take off your mask?" Lance released a deep sigh as he placed his head on his hand, thinking back to the argument from earlier.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Lance replied, sounding exhausted. Keith slowly leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and swinging his leg on top of the other.

"Allura?" Keith asked, already knowing the answer. Lance raised his head quickly and looked at Keith, who was showing signs of a smirk.  How the hell?  Knowing he couldn't sugarcoat it, he simply nodded.

"We kinda...got into a fight." Lance said somberly. Keith's eyes widened in shock. Lance? Arguing with Allura? The girl he was in love with? That statement alone didn't even sound right. Was it really that bad that Lance felt the need to take off his breathing mask?

"What happened?" Lance let out a chuckle deprived of humor.

"You wouldn't like what I have to say."

"Try me." The red paladin glanced at the black paladin, taking in the way he was sitting and looking at him. He was probably the only person who could pull off a serious look while looking relaxed as hell.  Focus, Lance! Focus!  Lance let out a fake cough as he started to explain.

"Well, she was kind of mad at me for choosing to go with you over her, Hunk, and Pidge. She thought I was putting myself into more danger than we were already in, but I already knew that going in. To summarize, I risked my life and she didn't like that, so we argued." Lance explained, gripping the covers firmly. A part of him wanted to tell Keith how Allura went on to blame him for him getting hurt, but the last thing he wanted was for Keith to feel bad that. It wasn't as if he wanted him to die, he had his hands tied. Needless to say, Lance was hoping Keith didn't push the topic and just leave it be. But alas, life is fair.

"And that alone was enough to make you take off your mask?" Keith inquired skeptically.  Fuck my life.  Lance took a peek out the corner of his eye to glance at Keith, who was still keeping his collected expression and relaxed posture. Lance groaned before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Lance, I can tell there's something more to this. But if you don't feel like telling me, you don't have to." Keith relented, not wanting to stress Lance out further. Lance laid his hand back in his lap.

"Thanks. And I want to tell you, but it's just a lot." Lance replied tiredly. "But what about you? How have you been?" Lance redirected. As much as he appreciated Keith making sure he was okay, Lance knew that he didn't come off the volcano planet unsaved either. He may have had black lungs and bloody coughs, but at least he didn't get beaten to a pulp by one of Lotor's former generals.

Keith's eyes widened from being put on the spot, but he could only chuckle as he knew sooner or later Lance was going to ask him how he was doing.

"I'm okay. Just got banged up a bit, but nothing I can't handle. Though I should be thanking you for that." the black paladin confessed, giving Lance a grateful expression. The red paladin let out a blush, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. In a way he still couldn't believe it. 

He saved him.

He actually saved him.

"It was nothing really." Lance said, attempting to sound nonchalant. Keith shook his head in disagreement, leaning in as he did so.

"No, it isn't. Not to me. Despite everything that happened to you, you were able to summon your bayard and save me. I'm sorry, Lance, but I just can't call that nothing." Keith replied wholeheartedly.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

Lance turned his head and looked at Keith.

"I just didn't want to lose you."

Keith's breath caught in his throat at the confession. He felt the rapid beats within his chest as he tried to remain calm. A part of him felt as though he only meant it in a platonic effect, something he didn't take issue in considering how he still might be working through his feelings with Allura. But that didn't mean there was another part of him that wasn't hopeful that he meant something more behind it. Regardless, hearing those words made Keith's insides swell, and luckily it wasn't from smoke or punches to the gut.

Keith placed his gloved hand on Lance's knee, squeezing it gently. Lance blushed even further at the motion as he held his breath, waiting for what Keith had to say.

"That's not going to happen." Keith whispered, smiling gently. Lance felt himself start to heat up even further as he caught Keith get up from his seat, leaning his face towards him as he gazed his glowing purple orbs into his gleaming blue ones.  Close. He's so close. Fuck. 

"So I'd appreciate it if you had more faith in me."

Huh?

Lance was frozen in place as he watched Keith slowly lean away from him, a smirk filling his entire face as he struggled to contain his laughter. Lance, whose face has now turned into that of a tomato, shoved (quite pathetically) the half Galran away from him.

"S-Shut up, mullet!" Lance stuttered. Unfortunately, he didn't get a proper response considering Keith was currently leaned back into the chair, struggling to contain his laughter as he held his hand over his mouth.

"I'm not sorry!" Keith giggled, before tilting his head backwards in full laughter. He was so busy laughing that he didn't notice the wide-eyed look the red paladin was giving him as he observed him.

The way his smile seemed to gleam brighter than the ceiling lights.

The way he had one of his legs in front of him on the ground to keep him from slipping off the chair.

The way his eyes were squeezed tight in glee as tears threatened to fall.

It didn't take long before Lance allowed himself to laugh alongside him, his blush still remaining on his face. He'd laugh harder, but he still cherished his lungs and didn't want them to bruise.

Finally, he was able to release a laugh. Not a laugh of convince. Not a pained laugh. Not an awkward laugh.

But a real, genuine laugh filled with enjoyment and freedom. And it was all because of Keith.

Keith was the one who gave him this. And as the laughter grew, so did his guilt.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

"Hi. I hope you don't mind a visit." Lance smiled gratefully at his new visitor.

"Not at all. I'm actually glad you're here."

Shiro closed the door behind him gently before taking a couple of steps towards Lance's bed. He had meant to come and check up on Lance sooner, but he got caught up with filling out incident reports and checking up on the status of the Atlas. Luckily, he was able to finish everything up quickly so he could check on Lance's condition. The last time he saw the red paladin was when he first woke up after being rushed to the Garrison ICU, so he at least wanted to see if he was feeling any better compared to before.

"I meant to come and check up on you sooner, but I've been a little bit swamped." Shiro confessed, crossing his arms over the footboard of Lance's bed as he bent. Lance shrugged, a half smile on his face.

"That's okay. I hope visiting me isn't too much trouble." Shiro quickly shook his head in disagreement, a smile of reassurance making an appearance.

"Never. So, how are you?"

"Physically, I'm getting better. The doctor said that I might be able to get that thing that they put in people's noses to breathe instead of this!" Lance said semi-enthusiastically, pointing to his mask.

"You mean a nasal cannula?" Shiro asked while chuckling.

"Yeah that! As for everything else..." Lance let out a heavy sigh before blowing an unenthusiastic raspberry, emphasizing how bad his "everything else" really was. The former black paladin frowned at the response.

"Why? What happened?" he asked in concern.

"Well, it kinda has something to do with Allura...and Keith." Lance confessed. Shiro's eyes widened slightly. He knew Keith was struggling with his feelings for Lance due to the former being in love with Allura, but he knew Keith was keeping that pain to himself as to not blindside or upset Lance. So hearing that Lance was having an issue concerning both Keith AND Allura was alarming. However, it could be something completely different, so Shiro asked anyway.

"Did Keith say something bad about you or Allura?" Shiro asked cautiously. Lance shook his head quickly.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. It's a bit more complicated than that. I don't even know where to begin." Lance replied, lowering his head. Shiro lifted himself up from the footboard and walked closer to Lance, plopping himself on his hospital bed as he rested his knee on the mattress and leaned in attentively.

"That's okay, you can just start from the beginning. Did it start on your date with Allura?" Shiro asked. Lance shrugged slowly.

"Technically?" Lance replied in the form of a question, elongating the "y." Shiro raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. Lance waved his hands in front of him.

"Okay, okay, okay! Let me explain." Lance took a deep breath before slowly taking off his mask. Shiro preferred for him to keep it on, but he decided to leave it alone until he felt that he needed to put it back on.

"It happened during the date, but it was because of what happened before the date, if that makes sense." Lance clarified. Shiro let out a hum, showing his understanding.

"Okay, so, remember when I bumped into you and I asked where Keith was? Well, I went to go see him and we talked for a bit, but, then I had to go and get ready. But I'll get back to that later." Lance recounted. The Atlas captain nodded his head.

"Okay. So what happened with Allura?" Shiro inquired. Lance sighed heavily.

"Well, we went out and it was going great. We had dinner with my family, they loved her, we had a nice meal, all that good stuff. After that, we went to a nearby park and talked some more and one thing led to another and then...we were about to kiss. She initiated it but, I couldn't do it." Lance ran a shaky hand through his hair repeatedly as he looked down.

"Why didn't you?" Shiro asked the red paladin. Lance's hand ceased its movement.

"Because what Allura wanted me to do was what I almost did to Keith." Shiro's eyes grew for a bit before going back to their original size. To say that he didn't expect that revelation was quite the understatement. 

"You almost kissed Keith?" Shiro asked. Lance nodded.

"I can't explain it. We were just talking and joking. Next thing I know, our faces were almost touching and...he was just sitting there and the sunlight was on him and he just looked so, so good a-and his voice was just- I don't k-know what came over me and I just f-felt like-" the red paladin wasn't able to finish his sentence as he let out a few coughs, his throat getting dry. Shiro lunged forward and grabbed his mask, gently placing it over his nose and mouth again as Lance took deep breaths. Shiro waited until he stopped a couple of minutes later to talk to him again.

"You okay?" 

"Yeah. Thanks." Lance said weakly. The room grew silent for a moment as Lance thought about what to say next. Shiro looked at his hands as he gave him a chance to think, not wanting him to feel pressured to explain anything further.

"I'm horrible, aren't I?" Shiro raised his head quickly, looking at Lance in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" he inquired once more. Lance sat back against his pillows, looking at his tightly clasped hands.

"I've been in love with her for so long and I couldn't even kiss her. All because I was thinking about someone else. Some guy I am, huh?" he chuckled sadly.

"Lance, there is absolutely nothing wrong with what you did. You didn't kiss her because you felt bad for thinking about someone else. It can happen, but that doesn't make you a bad guy in any way." Shiro stated firmly. Lance shook and lowered his head in response.

"But that's what it feels like. I was with Allura. I was on a date with Allura. I was going to kiss Allura, but I thought about Keith!" he whined, his hands slowly going up to grip his brown locks.

"And that's okay! You were in a similar position with him the way you were with Allura. Lots of people think of different things when they're having a moment with another person." Shiro said reassuringly.

"But I shouldn't be thinking about Keith like that!" Lance yelled, tears forming in the corners of his ocean eyes. Shiro's brow flicked upwards at the response.

"What do you mean by 'like that?'" the captain questioned. Lance took another deep breath before exhaling, his mask fogging up.

"I mean, Keith. He's...a guy. I shouldn't be feeling this way, right? I'm supposed to like girls like Allura. I mean, she's amazing and strong and beautiful and confident! But, so is Keith. Strong. Incredible. Brave. And I'll would be lying if I said that he wasn't attractive. He can do amazing things, too. I l-care for Allura so much, but I have these feelings for this guy that's been my teammate and friend."

Tears spilled down Lance's cheeks as he revealed everything to his hero.

"I mean, he used to be my rival. Lance and Keith, neck and neck. But somewhere down the line, I-I didn't want to be rivals anymore. And, after we lost you, he was there for me while he was trying to be a leader. B-but then your clone came and he just up and left. So I was all alone. I d-didn't have anyone. And the more alone I felt, t-the more I missed him. And ached for him. And then Lotor came and Allura was with him. And I just-"

"Lance?"

Lance finally raised his head to look up at Shiro. He was met with the most pained expression he ever saw, dark gray eyes brimming with tears of their own.

"How long have you felt like this?" Shiro rasped. Lance's shoulders began to shake.

"Too long." he whimpered, before sobs of pain and anguish forced themselves out of his throat. Shiro scooted closer to the young man, wrapping his arms around him as pulled him in, resting his face against his shoulder as he felt him grasp at his uniform. The former paladin stroked his back gently.

"Lance, I need you to listen to me very carefully. There is NOTHING wrong with having feelings for another guy. Absolutely nothing. Don't let anyone or anything tell you how you're supposed to love. Also, it's totally fine to have feelings for guys and girls." Shiro swallowed the lump that tried to form in his throat as he tried to keep his voice steady. 

"And I am so, so sorry that I wasn't there for you when you needed someone to lean on. I know I'm not Keith, but I would've been there to listen and make you feel less alone. I don't remember everything that my clone did in my place, but I know he wasn't the support you deserved and I can't apologize enough." Lance shook his head against Shiro's shoulder as he sniffled, his sobs still coming and going.

"P-please Shiro. Don't say you're sorry. I know you would've given anything to be there. You d-didn't ask to leave." Lance replied, his voice muffled against the fabric of Shiro's uniform. He slowly raised his head from his shoulder, wiping his eyes with one of his hands while the other continued to grasp Shiro's uniform tightly.

"I've just been so confused. That whole time Allura was getting close to Lotor and I thought that I never had a chance. Next thing I know she actually starts to see me and at first I thought it was weird as she just started to like me but I just ignored it. And now I have all these feelings towards Keith. Some I can describe and some I can't. It's just too much." Lance sighed heavily. Shiro gripped his shoulder firmly as he looked at the young man.

"I can tell. No one expects you to figure this out overnight. This is something you need to work through for yourself. You know yourself best." Shiro spoke gently.

"Do I?' Lance asked skeptically.

"Yes, you do. You know how you feel about Allura and I think you have some grasp on how you feel for Keith. You already took the first step in acknowledging them, so that's at least a start." Shiro affirmed, giving Lance a small, reassuring smile. The red paladin still looked conflicted as he rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Um, are you sure that it's okay for me to like guys and girls?" Lance asked nervously. Shiro nodded immediately.

"Yes, I promise you it is. Everyone loves differently.. Yes, most people like the opposite gender. But there are people who like the same gender and there are people who like more than one gender. There are even some people who don't prefer a gender at all, among others. Believe me, Lance, I understand how hard it can be feeling like something's wrong because of who I love. But learning and understanding it can help you figure out who you are." 

Lance was gobsmacked at Shiro's words. He didn't expect him to have such a firm grasp and understanding on his feelings. It definitely made him feel less scared of everything.

"Wow. You really know what it's like, huh?" Lance chuckled. Shiro tilted his head to the side, letting out a chuckle of his own.

"Well, I would hope so. Considering the person I've been for 26 years wouldn't be me if I never went through what you did." Shiro quipped. Lance perked his eyebrow at Shiro's statement, tilting his head in confusion. Shiro couldn't help but to laugh at his reaction.

"Lance, I'm gay." The red paladin's eyes grew into saucers at the revelation. 

Shiro.

Takashi Shirogane.

Former paladin of the Black Lion.

His hero.

His friend.

He understood him.

Because he was gay.

"Wait? Really?!" Lance gasped in shock. Shiro nodded, smiling. "That's crazy! I had no idea!"

"Well, with the exception of Keith, no one really does. I'm not ashamed of who I am or who I love. It's just something I choose to confide with the people close to me and the people I trust." Shiro spoke honestly. Warmth filled Lance's chest as new tears approached the surface of his eyes. No words could describe how honored he was to know that his hero trusted him with something so personal. Just Shiro casually coming out to him made him more of a hero in Lance's eyes. He couldn't imagine how much hardship he must've went through after discovering he was gay and telling people. He couldn't help but to smile graciously.

"So, how did Keith feel?" Lance inquired, a newfound curiosity overtaking him.

"He was pretty nonchalant about it. Even though he was a kid when I first met him, he understood the concept and didn't ask any questions. Though he came to ask me questions a few years down the line."

"Really? Why?" 

"Well, that's something you need to hear from Keith. But he was nothing but supportive. My sexuality didn't lessen his view of me or who I was with." Shiro finished. Lance was relieved. He might have considered Keith to be a loner and a jerk at one point, but he was sure as hell glad that he wasn't close-minded.

"Were you with anyone?" Lance asked eagerly. 

"Yeah. When I had met Keith, I was already in a committed relationship with a man named Adam." Shiro's face grew a bittersweet smile as he remembered his lover. "That man was the love of my life. We were actually engaged before the Kerberos mission." Lance's smile began to falter slightly. He had a feeling there was going to be a less than happy ending to this story.

"What happened?" Shiro's smile dropped.

"Due to medical reasons, he didn't like the fact that I was going ahead on the mission. I admit, this wasn't the first time I had wanted to do something risky with him disapproving. I was always one for wanting to break records and chase thrills. But this time, he couldn't sit by and watch me do it, so he broke off the engagement."

"And then you went on the mission and got captured." Lance added. Shiro sighed deeply.

"That's right. And when we got back to Earth, that's when I found out that he had been killed during the siege on Earth." Lance's heart dropped. This man has definitely been to hell and back. He gets kidnapped by the Galra, forced to fight for entertainment, ends up dying and trapped inside the Black Lion and gets replaced by a clone, and now he had to come home and find out that the man he loved was murdered in cold blood by the same Galra that took him in the first place. The universe truly does have a sick fascination with making the innocent go through the most hell. Lance leaned forward and placed his hand on Shiro's knee in comfort.

"I'm so sorry, Shiro. This might mean nothing but, I'm sure that he still loved you." Lance said reassuringly, a stray tear escaping his eye. The former paladin smiled at Lance's comforting words.

"Thanks. I hope so." Shiro let out a sigh before brushing off the tears that tried to come up. "But back to you, take as much time to figure out who you are. Once you do, you'll have a good grasp on what you want to do moving forward." Lance nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay. But what do I do about Allura and Keith?"

"Just do what you feel makes you comfortable. You may want to interact with them. You may want to avoid them. You might even want to interact with one but avoid the other. And that's okay. However, I will say that should they ask why, it's best to be honest. You can either tell them everything you've been feeling or just say that you're figuring stuff out and just need space for the time being." Shiro suggested.

"Well, I've already kinda been keeping Allura at arm's length and talking to Keith so I guess I'm taking your advice."Lance shrugged. "But should she ask, I'll try to be honest." 

"That's good. And if you have any questions or if you just need to vent, NEVER hesitate to come and find me. I'll even find time to talk while I'm working out." Shiro joked, gaining a laugh from the red paladin.

Shiro smiled proudly at the young man sitting in front of him. He knew that Lance was struggling and there were some things he would need to take care of his own, but seeing him choosing to take these next steps into figuring out who he is made the Atlas captain swell with pride. He might not have been there when these issues first arose, but he was willing to do anything and everything in his power to be there for him and do whatever he could to be a source of comfort, compassion, and understanding. No matter how big or small.

"So, is there anything else I can do? I still have time on my hands." Shiro asked, ready to be of service. Lance thought for a moment before he looked up at him, a huge smile filling his face.

"Can you tell me some funny stories of Keith as a kid?" Lance asked gleefully.

Shiro's eyes widened at the request, but he couldn't help but laugh, even though there was a chance Keith would murder him if he found out about this. He couldn't help but to smile at Lance's hopeful expression as he got up and walked around the bed, sat in the chair, and patted Lance's back.

"Absolutely."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me just say that while I was writing, this chapter became really personal for me. When I started watching the show, I was struggling with my own sexuality. So when I saw the art from the creators with Shiro and Lance holding the LGBT sign, I was hopeful to get representation. While I was watching, I couldn't help but to see myself in Lance, who I felt was going to struggle with his feelings for Allura and newfound feelings for Keith and eventually come out as bi.
> 
> So you can imagine my sadness and disappointment when the LGBT rep they promised us was handled so poorly and any form of rep that I saw in Lance while I was struggling ceased to exist. Thankfully, I've grown to accept my bisexuality, but that doesn't make the wound that VLD left any less big.
> 
> So the conversation that I wrote between Lance and Shiro was a conversation that I was hoping to see in the show. It was a conversation that would've helped me and so many other people who were going through the same thing get some representation and feel less alone.
> 
> Anyway, I don't know if there's going to be another chapter for this month, but if it is, I hope you guys have a wonderful holiday! (If there is another chapter, just disregard this message XD)
> 
> Once again, thank you for the support and thank you for so much for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys! We have officially reached the final chapter of 2020!
> 
> The nest chapter should pop up next month.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

_28...29...30_

Allura released her grip from the pole, landing on her feet flawlessly as she placed her hands on her knees, catching her breath. She could hear the constant pounding of her heart in her ears, its rhythm starting to let up the more she inhaled and exhaled. She had been spending her time in the Garrison training room for the last couple of hours, mostly kicking and punching her stresses out via punching bag after punching bag. By the time she was done beating the bags into submission, her knuckles were aching and bruised, yet that didn't stop the satisfaction that filled her bones, As a reward to herself, the princess decided to stick to a lighter yet mundane regimen consisting of crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups.

The princess sighed as she walked away from the contraption, making her way towards the nearest wall where her belongings laid, that being a bottle of water and a orange gym towel provided by the Garrison. She bent down to pick up the bottle, already feeling the moisture being absorbed through her palm as she stood back up. She quickly undid the cap as she tilted her head back to consume the cold liquid, feeling its cold and replenishing effects make their way down her throat. She released her lips from the bottle after a few seconds, twisting the cap back onto its rightful place as she placed the bottle back on the ground and picked up the towel to dry her hands.

"Come on, Cass! You can do better than that!"

"Well, some of us aren't as flexible as you are."

Allura turned her head to the source of the voices. Her blue eyes gazed upon a young man and woman who seemed to be in the middle of a workout, both in Garrison gym attire and seemed to be at least in their late teens or early twenties like Keith. The man had fair, white skin with a pink undertone that gleamed underneath the ceiling lights due to the sweat that clung to him. His curly, obsidian hair swept to one side of his fair while his side profile showcased an undercut and a silver piercing on his ear. He was standing with his hands in his sweatpants, his weight on one foot as he was leaned back, looking down at whoever he was talking to as a smile secured their place on his face.

The princess followed his line of vision and looked to see the girl, who happened to be sitting on the ground with her legs outstretched before her. She had sepia skin and short, curly, dark brown hair that stopped right next to her chin. She held a playful yet somewhat annoyed expression at the young man as her mouth tried to suppress whatever she wanted to say to him. It didn't take long for the man to smirk and walk.behind her as he crouched down.

"Allow me, then." he said mischievously, before leaning his body down on her back, wrapping his arms around his friend as she attempted to squirm out of her grasp, letting out a string of giggles as she struggled.

"Oh my god! Jae, get off me! You're gonna break my spine!" she laughed. The struggle only lasted for another few seconds before Jae leaned back on his bottom, still holding Cass in his arms. The chucking girl was too busy trying to cease her laughter that she didn't notice the way he was looking at her, a warm smile gracing his features and the subtle tightening of his arms around her. It was a look that Allura knew all too well:  _Love_.  The Altean could only watch helplessly as the young woman finally turned to face him, her hazel orbs meeting his dark brown ones as her laughter finally over before a similar smile made way to her face.

"You're stupid." Allura heard her snort. Jae's smile grew bigger.

"I know." he replied softly, before leaning in to connect his lips with her as they quietly giggled between kisses before they got themselves off the floor and walked to the treadmills together.

Allura felt her chest tightened as she watched the scene before her. She couldn't ignore the way she saw herself in that girl. Spending time when the person she cared for and wanting to be wrapped in their intimate embrace, not caring about who knew or saw. She turned her head away from them, staring down at her towel as her mind started to wander. Just seeing that display of affection reminded her of her and Lotor before everything went awry.

The way he held her hand so gently.

The way he looked at her so lovingly.

The way he had kissed h-

Allura felt her eyes widened as someone popped into her mind.

_Lance._

The princess felt a pang of guilt enter her chest as she spoke his name internally. It had been a couple of days since their argument in his hospital room and she was making an active effort to give the paladin his space. How could she not after everything she said to him? Despite this, however, she would still walk by his room and peak through the window to see how he was. There were times where he would catch her looking in and look away quickly, making an effort to keep his eyes trained on the blankets that covered him. At first, she assumed he was merely trying to forget about the fight and that because of her actions he was going to be somewhat distant. But then she would go back to his window and he would look so different. Gone was the look of anxiousness and the body language of someone looking to be small. Instead was the look of tranquility and the stature of someone who hoped to be small no more.

His trademark smirk when he joked with Hunk and Pidge.

His vivid and humorous face when he talked with Shiro.

His gentle smile and attentive eyes when he listened to Keith.

And not her.

_"Allura, I wanna be your family."_

_"I would follow you across the universe."_

Allura's grip tightened on her towel as she reflected on his words from their first date. She knew that Lance loved her, but she never realized the full extent of it until that night. Even though the mice had told her of his feelings back in the Castle of Lions, she merely brushed it off. But then the truth about Lotor came out and she found herself betrayed and hurt, and yet he was there. Just like he said he would. At least until this moment.

Now, the young man who said he would be by her side was doing everything in his power to be away from her side. The speedy walks away from her, the quick glances before looking away, his discomfort in his face whenever she would attempt to get close. And if the recent events on the volcano planet did anything for the princess, it basically confirmed just how far Lance was willing to go to keep his distance. She knew she was probably exaggerating, but that didn't make her concern any less valid. For quiznak's sake, he decided to separate himself from the group and almost got himself killed! 

He was avoiding her. But why?

Did she say something wrong?

Did he not want to kiss her that badly?

Did he...not want to be with her anymore?

"No."

Allura bent down quickly to pick up her water bottle, making a quick haste to the women's locker room to take a much needed shower. As she made her way out the room, she glanced back to find the young couple from earlier at the weight station. Jae was smiling down at her, making sure she didn't get herself crushed as she focused on lifting the heavy weight. Allura turned away from the sight as she focused on the path in front of her, aggravation and fear filling her veins.

"I need to settle this.'

* * *

_You came back._

_Of course I did._

Lance reflected on his dream once more as he sat on the window ledge of his hospital room, looking out at nothing. The red paladin took a deep breath before exhaling, releasing the tension from the day. He smiled, embracing the feeling of inhaling the air from around him and not from a mask. The red paladin couldn't stand receiving oxygen through masks and an uncomfortable nasal cannula. Not being able to inhale like a regular person because his lungs were practically scorched and might as well have been puddles of tar. His throat, chapped and dry from the burning air and sore from his bloody coughs as if he had was vomiting lava. Luckily, his breathing had improved greatly in the last couple of days since then. His condition improved rather nicely and he was deemed to breathe on his own again. Now, he was finally being discharged and free to go on his merry-Voltron-fighting-way.

Which meant he was going to interact with the team again.

And  _certain_ people  on said team.

Now that wasn't to say that he didn't want to see his friends. If anything, he wanted nothing more but to get out of that hospital bed and see them. Especially since they went through the effort to come and visit him while he was still in the midst of recovery.

For starters, as soon as Hunk and Pidge heard about his condition, they rushed over without hesitation. The red paladin couldn't forget how hard they squeezed him when they lunged at him for a three-person bear hug. He would say that they squeezed the life out of him, but the smoke and lack of oxygen already tried to accomplish that so it would be in poor taste to say such a thing. He remembered how hard Hunk cried into his shoulder and how tightly Pidge wrapped her thin arms around his abdomen as she shook.

_"Oh, buddy! You scared us half to death!" Hunk wailed._

_"We thought we lost you!" Pidge cried, words muffled as her face was pressed against Lance's hospital attire._

Lance chuckled at the memory. As much as Lance wanted to tell them how badly they were bruising his already sore chest, he didn't have the heart to push them away. They just had the scare of their lives being on that planet; they all did. He hated to admit it, but it was nice to know that they were worried about him. Sure, they probably would because they're his friends. But given "certain events," he had somewhat started to doubt that. But he didn't want to think about that right now.

As for Shiro, ever since their conversation he's been making an active effort to check up on him despite his busy schedule. Out of the team, Lance appreciated Shiro's presence the most. There were times where he would come in and he would strike up random conversation with him to take his mind off of his current situation. There would also be times where he would let Lance rant about his stresses of the day and occasionally give him some bits of advice. And there would be the rare scenario of Shiro providing Lance with more stories of Keith in his youth for potential blackmail fuel. Nonetheless, having his leader and friend as a confidant and someone to vent to was relieving to say the least. With everything that he's been going through, he could use it.

Lance got up from the window ledge and stretched, raising his arms over his head to get some much-needed circulation within him. He let out a heavy exhale as he gazed upon his reflection in the window. He was sporting a white T-shirt and Garrison-Paladin pants and boots, one of his arms adorning a bandage from crawling on the hard gravel on the volcano. Lance leaned in closer to the mirror, only to be met with the subtle bags that plagued his eyes due to exhaustion. Any person who saw him would just assume it would be from his time recovering, but Lance knew better.

_"We were already in danger the moment we landed. And besides, it's not like I went out on my own. I was with Keith the entire time."_

_"And look how that turned out."_

Lance groaned as he turned away from his reflection. He walked towards his hospital bed, placing his hands on the mattress in front of him as he shook his head. When he had said "certain people," he was begrudgingly referring to the princess. Ever since their argument, she had made it a point to not come by as often out of respect, which was something the young Cuban somewhat appreciated. But he wish that it didn't have to happen the way that it did.

He hated the way he had fought with her. 

Lance couldn't even comprehend how it had gotten to that point where he needed to shout at her the way that he did. At least that's what he tells himself. He knew what he did was risky...BEYOND risky. We were talking navigating a planet with an active volcano and with an alarming time limit on oxygen. Lance knows Allura meant well from a place of concern, but he wasn't a kid following their mother's directions. He was a grown man who was capable of making his own decisions, no matter how dangerous they were. And if he messed, he was willing to take that, regardless if his life was at risk. And isn't that what he signed up for when he stepped up to the plate of being a paladin? To make life-threatening choices in order to get the job done and protect others?

Honestly, Lance didn't have an issue with the way Allura opposed his choice to separate. If anything, it gave him a small bout of reassurance that she did truly did care for him. The thing that the red paladin took issue with was how quick she was to pull blame on Keith.

That, he wouldn't tolerate.

Lance already had a small feeling that she was upset at him for taking Keith's suggestion of abandoning the armor, but he thought little of it considering Pidge agreed with Keith also. But when he chose to go with Keith up the volcano, he knew that she was pissed. And given the way she stormed off into the forest with Pidge and Hunk on her tail, she was REALLY pissed. And in a weird way, it was probably well deserved...for him. He didn't expect her to have any animosity for Keith from the situation. But apparently she did with the words she said.

How Keith wasn't able to protect him.

How Keith should've turned him away more.

How it was Keith's fault that I ended up in a hospital bed.

Under normal circumstances, if it was any other person blaming Keith, Lance would've defended Keith without question. He just didn't expect himself to defend him so fiercely from Allura, even going as far as to remove his one source of clean oxygen just to prove his point. In a way, it felt like Keith's Galra reveal all over again, only this time he did the defending all by himself and he wasn't in the mood to go through those emotions again.

He didn't want to raise his voice at the Altean, but he couldn't help but to feel so protective. But clearly it shook her to her core because she practically never stepped foot in his room since that day. There were times, however, he would catch her outside of his window. She would gaze at him apologetically and he didn't have the heart to return his gaze, opting to look down at his sheets as the fight was still fresh in his mind and he didn't want that anger to build up again for the sake of his aching chest.

_Think of something else, Lance. Anything else._

Lance turned his head to the side and looked at his jacket, freshly ironed and ready to be worn once more by the Red Lion's paladin, his belt laying beside it. He slowly reached out for the garment as he picked it up, letting it hang loosely between his fingers. He knew sooner or later he was gonna have to talk to Allura about what's been going on with him and why he's been so awkward and flaky. But there was just one problem:

They're tall.

They have a huge ass scar on their cheek.

And they have a mullet.

_What the hell am I gonna say? "Hey Allura! I'm not really into you the way I used to be because I'm too focused on our leader whom I just now realizing I practically can't lose or I'll lose my freaking mind!"_ Lance thought, before he felt his eyes widen.

That's it. He admitted it. He couldn't lose him.

He couldn't lose Keith.

Lance couldn't deny or disregard it anymore. Ever since their almost-talk after they brought back Shiro, things had felt unfinished between the two paladins. Lance couldn't speak for the half Galran in question, but he was definitely feeling the empty space. He had so many things he wanted to tell him but he had to push it to the back burner for more important matters, like defeating the Galra Empire and trying to protect their home planet from being overrun. Not to mention the fact that he and the other paladins almost died and spent most of their time in hospital beds, so that just pushed things to the back burner even further.

At the beginning, he couldn't place why he was so adamant about talking to Keith again. As time went by, he just thought that those few moments they shared before he was able to get a word in were just a fleeting moment or him simply wanting to make conversation. Especially given how when the Black Paladin returned from wherever-the-hell he was at for all that time and completely brushed him aside.

But that was before the sunset.

The sunset that started everything.

Lance unconsciously held the jacket to his chest, tightening his then loose grip as the familiar hot sensation went through his bones. He still remembered the way Keith had reassured him before he went to see Allura. He still remembered how tenderly he looked at him and the reassuring smile he had sent his way. It was truly amazing how in a short amount of time someone could take all of his insecurities and doubts and replace them with confidence and care. He knew Keith was building him up so that he would be able to leave, but it only left Lance wanting to stay. He didn't want to be a boy getting ready to eat with a princess. He wanted to be a young man sitting with the person he didn't want to lose.

All those feelings culminating in a moment where Lance was about to do something life-altering. Something that would change everything, especially between him and his leader, and it scared him to death. So he did the only thing he could do and run. Run to the person he had been waiting for ever since they first stepped foot in the Castle of Lions, the person who was finally willing to wait for him. But when it came down to it and he and Allura went on their date, it didn't feel right.

Lance no longer felt that excitement and happiness when he was beside her and those feelings continued to dwindle the longer the date progressed. Despite how grateful he was to Allura for giving him this chance to be next to her, he felt as if he was so far behind her. And when it came down to it, he couldn't find it in him to kiss her nor did he bring himself to care about starting to lose her.

Fast forward to now, and he no longer felt he was behind her. No, he felt as though he was lightyears ahead of her. As if he was looking back at her from behind him as he continued to stride forward. Because now, he had to focus on what was up ahead...who was up ahead. After all the intense dreams and near-death experiences, everything was slowly but surely starting to become clear:

Keith is important to him and he refused to lose him.

_"Despite everything that happened to you, you were able to summon your bayard and save me. I'm sorry, Lance, but I just can't call that nothing."_

Lance took in a shaky breath as he recalled Keith's words. He still couldn't believe he was able to summon his bayard out of nowhere. The only other person who did that was Keith back when they were captured which was sorta to be expected because...it's Keith. Not to mention considering what the "glow-up" he had back when he was on the space whale, Lance learned to expect the unexpected with him. But for himself to do that despite being on the brink of death was surprising even to the red paladin, but at the same time it didn't feel like a coincidence to him. If he hadn't, neither him or Keith would be here right now. A fact that still manages to make him shiver at the "what-if" of it all. Lance felt his legs begin to quiver underneath him as he turned and sat down on the bed. He lowered his head into the jacket as he wrapped his arms around his jacket.

"Oh my God."

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock, knock._

Lance was in the middle of fastening his belt when he heard the assertive knocks on his door before it opened. He assumed it was a nurse considering they had last come in his room to tell him to start getting ready to leave ICU, so he didn't bother turning around as he try to secure his belt quickly.

"Don't worry, nurse. I'm on my way out. I already made the bed so I just need to get settled in this and I'll be out of the way." Lance spoke quickly, eager to get out of the way. He heard the door close as he heard slow footsteps making their way into the room.

"I'm not a nurse."

Lance's eyes widened in shock as he swerved his head towards the familiar voice. It was Allura. She was standing firmly, arms by her sides with a determined expression on her face. Lance shifted backwards on his feet nervously as awkwardness set in for him. He and Allura haven't had a proper conversation since their fight so it felt weird for him to be standing in front of her face-to-face.

"Uh, I didn't expect to see you here." Lance started anxiously, looking down at the floor in order to avoid the princess' gaze.

"Well, I figured that I just check in one last time before you're finally released." Allura replied calmly. Lance nodded before walking back to the window ledge, taking a seat. Silence permeated the room as the red paladin was too anxious to speak. Allura continued to stare at him before she sighed heavily.

"Look, Lance. I know that things have been...strange between us ever since our fight. And I'm sorry, but we can't keep avoiding each other." Lance's ears perked up at the statement.

"Allura, I was confined to a hospital bed. It's not like I could really go anywhere." Lance said sarcastically yet firmly. 

"T-that's not what I meant." the princess stuttered. It was Lance's turn to sigh heavily before responding.

"Princess, I really should start finishing u-"

"Lance!" Allura shouted almost desperately, before lowering her voice and tone. "Lance, I know that I hurt you with the words I said, and I'm sorry. But you're really starting to worry me. Things haven't been the same between us since we went out together and I know you feel the same way."

Lance clasped his hands firmly and stared down at them. Shiro had warned him that sooner or later he would have to come clean about his feelings and just everything in general. He just didn't expect it to be like this. The only thing he was supposed to focus on was finally leaving this plain hospital room and returning to his bedroom. He didn't think he would be confronted by Allura and would have to try to avoid another negative interaction between them. Oh, how he wished he had more time. The young Cuban heard Allura's footsteps come a couple of steps closer before stopping, probably to put a respectable distance between them.

"I know this might be the wrong time, Lance. But I think we need to talk." Lance's hands tightened as it seemed that the day he was dreading was finally upon him. Shiro's words rang through his head.

_"Just do what you feel makes you comfortable...However, I will say that should they ask why, it's best to be honest. You can either tell them everything you've been feeling or just say that you're figuring stuff out and just need space for the time being."_

Lance breathed in deeply before finally raising his head and look at Allura, gazing into her vibrant blue eyes for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Yeah, we do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we go. From here on out, the chapters are going to get more and more intense so be warned.
> 
> But anyway, thank you guys so much for reading Void and I'm so glad to see so many people are reading it and I appreciate the occasional feedback I get from time to time! You guys are the best!
> 
> I hope you guys have a safe and responsible Happy New Year and hopefully 2021 will be our year!
> 
> See you soon! XOXOX


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, guys! The first chapter of 2021!
> 
> Let's get it!

"I know this might be the wrong time, Lance. But I think we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do."

Lance took a deep breath as he did his best to maintain eye contact with Allura. Every single fiber in his being wanted to look away from her gaze, hoping to avoid her almost hypnotic blue pupils so that he wouldn't be susceptible to this guilt-ridden trance. But he knew that that was impossible. Where's the fairness in keeping all of his thoughts and emotions away from her while she remained none the wiser? He knew that this day was bound to happen eventually, but he just wished he had been the one to make the first move. Lance couldn't help but to feel almost bombarded with this turn of events. The only thing he could do now was let out a heavy sigh.

"Where do you wanna start?" Lance asked somewhat tiredly, hoping that the whole floor would swallow him whole. Allura could only give the recovering paladin a pitiful expression before she began to speak, her gaze slowly turning firm.

"I feel that the beginning would be best." Allura spoke firmly. Lance nodded in acknowledgement. He extended his hand toward the princess, prompting her to continue.

"Lance, I'm starting to get worried and a little bit frustrated. Ever since we came back to Earth, I felt as though things started to change between us. It felt as though we had gotten closer, especially since you were there for me at my most vulnerable. When you first asked me to go on a date with you, I'll admit that I was somewhat...reluctant. But once I went and witnessed the way you acted with your family around you, it felt as though I truly belonged somewhere." Lance's eyebrows furrowed at the statement, but the princess didn't take notice.

"But then after dinner, things just...shifted. You started to become jumpy and almost panicked. And it seems to have reached a point where you've started to ignore me." Lance shifted his gaze downward as he shifted awkwardly.

_Damn, she's perceptive._

The princess couldn't help but to curl her hands into fists.

"Are you?" she asked anxiously. The red paladin rubbed his hands together nervously as he stayed beneath her gaze.

"Y-you're not wrong." he replied quietly, his frame shrinking in on itself as if he were being encased in a small, tight box. Shame overtook him as he heard Allura let out a heavy sigh, something he didn't want to hear. The last thing he wanted was to make the Altean feel as though she was someone to be avoided. He lifted his gaze once more as the princess slowly crossed her arms, almost as if she was trying to shield herself from the revelation's blowback.

"Why?" Allura whispered desperately. Lance released a quiet sigh as he stood from the window ledge.

"Look, Princess. I never wanted to avoid you, believe me. That was my last intention." Lance started. He proceeded to rub his arm awkwardly as he shifted from foot to foot. "It's just that...so many things have been going on with me and I've just been trying to maintain a grip on it, y'know? I've just been trying to make sense of it all." Allura's brows furrowed in confusion at the statement.

"What is there to make sense of?" the princess inquired. Lance felt his breath hitch in his throat. Honestly, he couldn't understand why he was hoping she would leave things at that and the only conclusion he could come up with was that he was being way too damn optimistic for his own good. He already knew deep down that wasn't going to be enough for her, so why the hell was he so surprised that he wasn't? The young Cuban was so lost in his thoughts he didn't register the feeling of Allura's hands on his shoulders.

"Lance. Please just talk to me." Allura quietly pleaded, her somber eyes piercing their way into Lance's memory. It didn't take long for the red paladin to feel a newfound chill creep its way through his body from where her hands laid. He might as well have been encased in a block of ice from how quickly the freezing sensation overtook his entire core. A stark contrast from the overwhelming heat he had been feeling for the last few weeks. It took everything in him not to recoil from her touch.

"I-It's not that easy, Princess." Lance answered somberly, grabbing Allura's hands and removing them from his shoulders. He closed his eyes tightly as he finally turned away from the princess, back facing her.

"There are so many things that I need to figure out. And I need to do it alone."

"Like quiznak you don't!" Allura shouted, agitated. Lance felt himself flinch at the princess' shout. Honestly, he had expected this. "Lance, whatever you're going through you don't have to do it on your own! We can talk about this!"

"No, we can't!" Lance exclaimed.

Allura was taken aback, stumbling back a couple of steps. She hadn't meant to upset him again like she did the last time she came to see him, but she wasn't going to allow him to push her away. She quickly regained her composure and stood up straight, waiting for Lance's next words.

"Allura, I know that you think this is something that you can fix but you can't. No one can. Not you, not Shiro, not Keith. The only one who needs to work things out is me. Which means I gotta do it alone." Lance let out a chuckle deprived from humor and life. "Besides, this isn't the first time I've been alone."

The confession took the princess by surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked in alarm. The red paladin let out another humorless chuckle before turning back around to face the princess.

"Exactly what I meant. While you and everyone else was doing their thing, I was always relegated to the side. I mean, come on! Pidge and Hunk did the tech stuff. Shi-He did the leader stuff. Keith was doing his Blade stuff. I couldn't do what they did, so all I could do was stay in my room and play video games all day. Hell, you and Coran even popped up in my room that one time! What was I going to do? Walk right up to you to tell you how lonely I was?" Lance asked, clearly agitated from having to recount his time back in the Castle of Lions.

Allura's eyes widened in disbelief. She felt her blood run cold as she took in Lance's words.

She did remember.

She did remember visiting Lance's room with Coran, wishing to experience what it was like to have a milkshake from Kaltenecker. She remembered him urgently pressing the buttons on his controller as he tried to focus on his task on the screen. She had honestly thought that he stayed in his room on purpose, not wanting to be bothered with anyone to just play away to his heart's content. She never expected the reason to be as heart-aching as this, and she was none the wiser. Allura's gaze flickered to the floor before looking back up at the red paladin. She took slow steps towards him as she reached out and grabbed his hand.

"You can now."Allura finally replied, gently squeezing his hand.

"Lance, I'm so sorry that you were alone. But you don't have to be. Pidge and Hunk are still here. Keith and Shiro are back. It's as if everything is falling back in place. And, you should know that you can come to me." she finished, a hopeful smile slowly creeping onto her face. Lance felt his chest clench at her last statement. And not in a good way. He slowly shook his head.

"No, Allura. I don't know that." Lance said firmly, a hint of sadness laced in his voice. Allura's eyes widened in shock as she was once again taken aback, releasing her hold on his hand. Was she truly that unreliable or unapproachable to him now?

"W-why don't you know?" Allura stammered. Lance groaned as he ran his hand through his hair. The longer this conversation continued, the more annoyed and agitated he felt himself become. He just wanted this to be over and go back to his dorm and pretend this never happened. But that dream is becoming less and less of a reality.

"It's just...sometimes I feel like I can't talk to you. And mainly because you're you. You're the princess of Altea who's focused on defeating the Galra and I'm just a boy from Cuba who ended up flying a mechanical lion in an intergalactic space war. And to top things off, we've been butting heads. You literally got mad at me for not agreeing with you about leaving the armor!" Lance exclaimed, annoyance finding its way to the surface. The Altean's confused gaze hardened into a defensive one as she felt herself grow irritated.

"Must we talk about this again?" Allura asked in exasperation.

"Yes, because it proves my point. You didn't like that I was the tiebreaker for us leaving the armor and you just walked away from me without saying goodbye! Almost as if I'm not allowed to have a differing opinion from you. And to add the cherry on top, you got mad at Keith and blamed him for me almost dying! It was like the Galra reveal all over again!"

Allura's voice caught in her throat. Not only did Lance bring back up their fight, but now he was bringing up how she was after Keith revealed his heritage, a mistake she has been trying her hardest to avoid and regrets deeply.

"T-that's different!" Allura replied, her voice raised.

"Barely! You're mad at Keith for something that was completely out of his control and instead of just talking to him, you go out of your way to treat him like the bad guy! And I know you remember what I said to you about that, right?"

Allura gritted her teeth at the memory.

* * *

_"You went too far, Princess."_

_Allura turned her head quickly to find Lance, standing in front of her. He had his arms crossed somewhat tightly as he looked at her with an expression that consisted of exhaustion and...disappointment._

_"What do you mean?" she asked._

_"You know exactly what I mean. I saw everything." Lance answered, annoyed at the question._

_He had been walking down the hallway heading back to his room when he saw Keith leaning against the wall, looking at his knife. But before he had a chance to go and talk to him, Allura had come out of nowhere, snatching his knife from his hand and accusing him of plotting against the team. The Cuban boy could only stand dumbfounded as the woman he had feelings before tore down his teammate in front of his eyes, not holding anything back as she tore him limb from limb with the fangs that spewed from her insults. Keith, on the other hand, could barely get a word in as he tried to talk her down. Things only got worse as Keith was finally able to retrieve his blade from her grasp, only for Allura to push him away from her afterwards, saying that she didn't want to be 'touched by a filthy Galra like him.' Lance's eyes widened in horror as he saw Keith's entire frame deflate and heard his exhausted sigh as the red paladin walked away from the princess, presumably back to his room._

_Allura crossed her arms at the revelation and averted her eyes from Lance's gaze. He wished that he hadn't seen what had transpired, but she was hoping he could see her side of things._

_"Lance, you don't underst-" the princess started before she was interrupted._

_"I understand perfectly. I just saw you attack Keith for no reason!" Lance shouted angrily. "I'm sorry, Princess, but this has gone on long enough!"_

_"I didn't attack anyone! He put his hands on me!"_

_"Because you took his sword! He wasn't trying to hurt you, he was getting something back that you took from him! The only person who did any attacking in this situation was you!"_

_"Me? I-I was just protecting myself!" Lance could only scoff before walking closer to the Altean._

_"Do you hear yourself? Protection from Keith? Are you serious? You know that Keith would never put his hands on you, especially unprovoked!"_

_"You can never tell with the Galra." the princess spat out, venom laced in her voice. Lance could only shake his head. How could she not understand just how far she was taking things with Keith? He totally understood her distrust of the Galra considering everything she went through. But going out of her way to berate and alienate his teammate for something completely out of his control? That was something the blue paladin couldn't sit on the sidelines for, not anymore._

_"So that's just it? One trace of DNA and you just forget everything that Keith's done for you?" Lance questioned, frustrated at the princess' behavior. "That's all it takes for someone to become a monster to you?"_

_"Am I not allowed to feel what I feel towards them, Lance?" Allura asked harshly, sending Lance a pointed look as she huffed and crossed her arms. Her gaze startled the blue paladin for a quick second, but didn't deter him from trying to get his point across._

_"Yes! Towards Zarkon! Towards Haggar! Towards everyone who follows their beck and call! But not for those who oppose them! Whatever feelings you have towards them shouldn't be aimed at Keith!"_

_"And why not? He didn't find a problem with keeping the truth from us." Lance tilted his head in confusion at the statement._

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"If Keith cared about my feelings or the team, he would've disclosed this information to us! Instead he just left all of us in the dark to blindside us!" Allura argued. The blue paladin could only look at the Altean incredulously as he tried to let her accusation sink in. So far, he wasn't doing a very good job as every fiber in his being wanted to scream into the cosmos at just how bad this situation was. He already hated arguing with the woman of his dreams, but the fact she was being so unfair and prejudicial made things harder. And it certainly didn't help matters that she actually thought that Keith knew about his Galra bloodline beforehand and clearly didn't get the memo._

_"What?" Allura asked angrily._

_"Allura. Keith didn't know he was Galra either." Lance answered quietly, tired of raising his voice in what felt to him a losing battle. The princess's expression, while still holding her anger, was now displaying complete confusion. Lance held his hand out as he continued to explain._

_"Shiro told me everything. Keith didn't know he was Galra until after the trials he did at the Blade's base, which was the same day they came and pledged to join the Coalition. So if anything, he was just as blindsided as you were." the blue paladin confessed. Allura widened her eyes. She had honestly thought that Keith knew of his bloodline the entire time and that he had no choice but to tell the truth. A small part of her started to feel guilt, but she pushed it down, refusing to acknowledge her erratic conspiracies and behavior._

_"Okay, maybe he didn't know who he truly was at the time. That still doesn't excuse the fact that I have to deal with this new information and the Blade of Marmora while it seems Keith has already accepted it" Allura stated weakly, before finally retrieving her strict persona from earlier. Lance settled into the silence that permeated the air for a few seconds before speaking up._

_"You don't think Keith's been torn up about this?" the blue paladin asked sadly, thinking about how Keith acted earlier when Allura snapped at him. The way he didn't attempt to fight back against her words saddened Lance immensely. Yes, he still somewhat considered the red paladin his rival, but that didn't mean he liked seeing him sad all the time from the moment he dropped the truth bomb on everyone. Allura furrowed her brows slightly before he continued._

_"Princess, do you have any idea how Keith must have felt? Don't you think a part of him was scared, almost horrified at the fact that he was Galra? Don't you think it was killing him to know that once the truth came out you were going to react the way you are now?" Allura could only stay silent as more pangs of guilt continued to strike her nerves the more Lance scolded her, causing her to look down at the floor._

_"I know that Keith is the type of guy to keep things to himself, but regardless of what you think or feel about him, he's still human. And even if he's making an active effort not to show it, he's probably afraid and sad. And because of the way you've been treating him, he probably feels more alone than ever." Lance lamented. The princess exhaled through her nose as she closed her eyes, as if trying to block out the incoming onslaught of guilt and shame from Lance's words. She believed she had every right to act the way she was. She doesn't trust the Galra after what they did to her home and her family and now one of her own paladins is part of that race. She's allowed to have her suspicions about him. But Lance was making it fairly difficult to believe that._

_"And do you know what's the worst part?" Lance's question pierced through the Altean's thoughts as she looked at the blue paladin, prompting him to go on._

_"Despite all of your cruel words and actions, he doesn't stop you. He lets you say what you want to say and he takes it all, no matter how much it might hurt him because that's who Keith is. He respects and cares about you enough to let you berate him and bully him even if he doesn't deserve it because he knows the reason why." Lance finally finished, slowly letting the tension ease from his shoulders as he finally relinquished everything he wanted to say. He stood anxiously as he waited for the princess to respond. She merely shrugged at him._

_"I don't know what you want me to say, Lance." Allura replied, her voice monotone. Lance gave a shrug of his own._

_"I don't expect you to say anything, Princess. But I do want you to think about how you've been treating Keith because whether you like it or not he's the paladin of one of your lions and you need him. And if I'm being completely honest, something tells me that Keith never told us, you would be treating him normally like before. I'm not telling you to disregard your feelings because at the end of the day, they are valid. But I want you to look and see if you're willing to separate that hatred away from any Galra that would be willing to fight alongside us in the future, and that includes Keith." Lance spoke softly. Allura was about to interject into Lance's plead, but he beat her to the punch._

_"And please, Princess, don't say that you won't be able to do that because of Keith being Galra because Coran went through the exact same thing you did and he still treats Keith the same way he did before the truth came out." Allura stood in shock, mouth agape. She couldn't help but to feel blindsided at the mention of Coran. She had been so focused on herself and everything else that she had assumed that Coran had felt the same way she did. But clearly she was wrong. She was so lost in thought that she almost didn't register Lance walking by her in the opposite direction, hands shoved in his pockets._

_"Where are you going?" the princess asked hurriedly. Lance turned his head to her, a determined look on his face. Allura couldn't help but to recoil at his gaze, feeling as though she was a little girl being scolded by her father._

_"To make sure my friend is okay. And one more thing."_

_Allura stayed quiet as he spoke._

_"You may be the princess of Altea, but you're not always right."_

* * *

Allura sighed as she finally managed to get through the memory in its entirety.

"Yes, I remember." she replied. Looking back now, she couldn't help but to hate herself for what she said. If she was being completely honest, it was because of Lance confronting her that she was able to move past her feelings and apologize to Keith for how she treated him.

"But you see my point, right?" Lance asked as he crossed his arms. Allura nodded in response as she sighed.

"I do." the princess replied quietly. Lance could sense the guilt coming off of the Altean as he tried to ease it.

"Princess, I'm not bringing this back up to hurt you. I'm just trying to get you to see that we're not gonna agree on everything and you shouldn't be mad at me for that.'

"Lance, I didn't mean to get upset with you." said Allura, trying to apologize.

"But you did. And then when I ended up in the hospital, you got upset with me and Keith." Lance stated, remembering their argument that day.

"And you told me I was wrong." the princess acknowledged, rubbing her arm nervously. "Because that's who you are, Lance. Whenever I'm upset about something, you always find a way to talk me down." Allura slowly grabbed Lance's hand once more, looking into his blue eyes lovingly as a heartfelt smile made its way onto her face.

"Lance, I need someone like you in my life." Allura confessed. Lance felt his stomach churn at the confession. This moment once again became one of the instances in which the red paladin should consider this a win. He should be doing backflips just at the thought of Allura needing him. But at this moment, he wanted to run out of this room and never look back. The Cuban boy couldn't help but to smile sadly.

"No, you don't." Just as quickly as it appeared, Allura's smile fell at Lance's words. She could feel the fear flowing through her veins.

"Princess, I'm not the person you need. I'm the person you want." Lance stated, feeling himself get more and more drained as he spoke a truth that could no longer be contained.

"That's not true!" Allura panicked.

"Yes, it is. We have completely different goals. You're trying to save your people. I'm trying to stay alive and get home to my family. You need someone who can be on the same page as you and can talk you down much better than I possibly can. Someone with a similar goal in mind. Someone so much better. I can't-"

"Yes, you can!" Allura interrupted. "Whatever needs to change between us, it can be done! You don't have to be that boy anymore! Quiznak, you're not that boy anymore! You're a strong, capable, compassionate paladin who put his life on the line for me time and time again! My pr-" She widened her eyes in horror at what she was about to say while Lance seemed too stunned to speak, though he was making an active effort not to look so.

"Your what?" Lance asked dejectedly. It was the princess' turn to let go of Lance's hand, lowering her gaze to the floor. Her guilt was immeasurable as she heard Lance let out a sigh

"I'm not him, Allura." the red paladin stated somberly.

"I know that. So many things have changed." the Altean replied, slowly looking back up at Lance. She felt her stomach twist and turn in shame as she took a good look at his face, which showed nothing but defeat and hurt. And she knew that if she was a few steps closer, she could determine whether or not there were actual tears in his eyes ready to spill over.

"Yeah, they have." Lance turned around once more away from the princess. "There was a point in time where I thought that if I just played my part long enough and continued to stand by you that you would notice me. Maybe even fall in love with me. But instead, I had to sit back on the sidelines and watch you get close to someone who I knew would hurt you and the team, but you chose him over me."

Allura's heart fell to the pit of her stomach as she suppressed her gasp.

_He knew?_

"Y-You know?" Allura squeaked, her voice straining due to her anxiety. Lance quirked one of his brows quickly, slightly dumbfounded at her voice.

"Of course I do. I saw the way you looked at him. You never looked at me like that." Lance chucked sadly. The princess quietly exhaled in relief, but that didn't stop the guilt she felt from continuing to consume her. She didn't want to be responsible for all the pain Lance was feeling, but in a way she was. He has every right to how he feels towards her now. So why does she not want him to leave her alone?

"Allura, when we were in the park together near the tree, I told you that I would follow you across the universe if that meant helping you find a family. And I meant that."

_No._

"I want you to be able to go out there and find where you belong."

_No._

_Quiznak, please no._

"But you'll have to do it without me."

And almost in an instant, the princess felt her heart stop beating. He was going to leave her and she knew he meant it. She stared at the red paladin as she watched him shrug and heard him release another empty chuckle.

"And I know what I said and how I said it. But like you said, things are different now. When you heard me say that, you probably thought I meant it in the romantic context I always use it in. But that's not true. I mean, at one point it would've been like that. But not anymore. Allura, I know what I'm going to say next might hurt you and it won't be something you want to hear. But I-" Lance swerved backward to face the princess once again, but his upcoming sentence was halted.

It was halted...by her lips.

The young Cuban felt his breath hitch in his throat as Allura pressed herself close to him, her lips already weaved into his as she clung to his jacket in attempt to keep him where she wanted. He knows that he should be cherishing such intimacy. But he wasn't that lovesick boy anymore. He was a young man who needed to figure things out for himself and already knew that this was something he didn't want.

He did not want to be kissed.

Not like this.

And not by her.

He didn't have time to think as he recoiled away from the princess' yearning mouth, covering his own with his hand as he gasped for air.

_What the hell just happened?!_

Allura stood confused, her hands still in the position from when she was gripping his jacket during the kiss. She had honestly thought she was finishing something that he wanted to start. She had thought he wanted this for so long. So why was he reacting like this?

_I don't understand. Now he doesn't want to kiss me? I could've sworn he would like this._

"W-What?" she asked, gobsmacked at his reaction. She couldn't help but to slowly grow offended at him and the newfound confusion that continued to plague her once more. Lance continued to stand in front of her, mouth agape as he struggled to talk and could only tremble, Allura clenched her fists as she groaned in annoyance at the situation they were currently in.

"Quiznak, Lance! You have feelings for me, don't you?" Allura exclaimed, causing the scared young man's eyes to enlarge.

_She knew?!_

"Lance, for the longest time, I brushed your feelings to the side. Even when Lotor came onto the castle, I didn't heed your warnings about him and ignored your feelings until it was too late. I'm even ashamed to admit that before I learned the truth, Lotor and I...shared a moment. But then everything came out and he broke my heart. Betrayed my trust. Almost had us killed. And just when I thought everything was crumbling around me, you were there to pick me back up. And I guess somewhere down the line, I realized just how important of a place you make in my life." Allura finally finished, trying to catch her breath after releasing such a sincere confession.

The silence in the room was deafening as Lance had finally recovered from the shock of the kiss. He could feel his mind racing as he tried to absorb everything that Allura had told him. When he thought about coming clean to Allura, he wanted it to be a simple conversation where he had just let her down easy. Not necessarily confessing to everything he thought and felt, but just that he needed more time to himself and that he couldn't see himself having a romantic shift in this one-sided relationship. He didn't know there was going to be mentions of the past, desperate pleads, and an unwanted kiss. The red paladin was already struggling to hold himself together throughout this entire conversation, but the cracks were starting to make their way to the surface. And Allura's confession might be the blow that causes him to shatter.

"Allura, will you be honest with me?" Lance asked cautiously, trying to keep himself together. The princess nodded eagerly.

"Before the truth came out and you were with Lotor, did you know that I loved you?" Lance watched Allura's face carefully. He was hoping for the shocked look in her eyes. The quick shake of her head in disagreement. The disgust in her voice at the mention of his name. The denial of such a sad reality.

He was looking deep in her vibrant pupils for something.

Anything.

And then he found it:

Regret.

Lance felt his heart drop as he registered the grim expression on Allura's face. He couldn't not notice the way she bit her lip and moved to clasp her hands in front of her, her shoulders going in on themselves the way a turtle would hide in its shell. The answer was clear: Allura knew he was in love with her...and she still chose Lotor. In a way, he had already had a feeling she would choose the prince over him regardless if he had romantic interest in her. But that didn't stop the feeling of sadness and betrayal that he felt. In that moment, he started to wish that he had been consumed by the smoke. That his lungs would turn to molten rock so he could burn from the inside out, letting the fire inside make its way through him as he became nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Allura grew more anxious with each passing second as Lance stayed silent, seemingly processing the information. Just as she was about to ask if he was okay, the red paladin took his first steps. The Altean held her breath, awaiting to see what he was going to do with her, only to feel distraught as he walked around her, heading to the door. She turned around quickly as she attempted to grab onto his arm, getting him to stop.

"Lance! Please wait! I can exp-" She was unable to finish her sentence as Lance shrugged her off of him, keeping his gaze ahead of him as he walked out the door, not bothering to look back as the door closed behind him.

Allura stood frozen in place, her arm outstretched like she was still trying to grab onto something. She felt herself start to breathe heavily as her hand shook before she retracted her arm, her other hand holding it to her chest. She couldn't believe what she just did. What she just said. She used the last of her energy to call out for him, but nothing could come out.

_No._

The Altean placed her hand over her mouth as she continued to tremble. She let out a shaky exhale before she dropped to her knees as she began to cry silently. All the anger, sadness, confusion, and regret flowed out of her with every tear that glided down her cheeks and every hiccup that erupted from her throat.

_I lost him._

* * *

Any sense of control Lance thought he had was lost as his feet carried him through the Garrison hallways. With his body on autopilot, he let himself get consumed with every single thought that plagued him.

_It was over._

_Things won't be the same between us again._

_Allura kissed me._

_And she broke me._

Lance could feel his lip begin to tremble at the last part. All this time since they fought Lotor. All that time since the Castle of Lions had been destroyed. All this time since they've returned to Earth, Allura knew that he had feelings for her. She knew how much he loved her and she chose Lotor. But of course she did. Who'd want to be with someone like him when she could be with Lotor, right. Hell, even he knew that.

_I'm just a boy from Cuba, not a space prince like Lotor._

It didn't take long for the humiliation and embarrassment that he had tucked away for all this time to come back up to the surface. Every pick-up line, every single flirty one-liner, every single stare. All acknowledged in the worst way possible. He can remember every comment or look the team gave him while he was on his lovestruck crusade. And just that quickly, everything with Allura and Lotor playing back-to-back.

The way she gazed at him.

The way she talked to him.

The way he looked at her when she wasn't looking.

The way he'd subtly try to get closer to her.

Pidge and Hunk pointing out his jealousy.

The way they teased him.

The way they role-played Allura and Lotor falling in love.

How Allura and Lotor stood side-by-side.

The truth.

The betrayal.

The hurt in her eyes.

The look of desperation in his.

Her anger.

Her tears.

Her pain.

Her-

**_Whoosh_ **

Lance jumped at the sound of his door closing behind him. That whole time he had been within himself, his feet carried him back to this room without issue. He turned his head back and forth as he took in his surroundings, making sure that this was really his room and not someone else's. Once he gave himself the confirmation of being in the right place, it was as if his mind instantly regained control of his body as his legs started to tremble and he started to breathe heavily and shakily. He heard and felt the strained and choked noises trying to make their way out of his mouth, so he decided to keep it shut.

He tried to steady himself as he walked towards his bed, aiming to lay there and forget that this whole day never happened. Before he could face plant into the mattress, his gaze shifted to the picture frame on his nightstand. Against his better judgement, his shaky hand reached out to pick up the frame. His lip quivered as he looked down at the photograph of him and Allura. The way his hands were shoved in his pockets awkwardly. The way she rested her head on his shoulder in pure content. The way she was utterly oblivious to the fact of how he was thinking of someone else just moments before and how that same someone is someone he never wanted to lose.

_"You truly feel that way?"_

_"With all my heart."_

Lance could barely make out his own voice as he took a sharp inhale and let the first sob emerge from his throat. He could no longer hold himself up as his legs caved in, causing him to drop the picture frame. His sobs continued to rack through his body as he backed himself up against the wall, pulling his knees into chest and covering his eyes with his hand. He was tired, so very tired. He was tired of the confusion. He was tired of the pain. And he was tired of the what-ifs. The red paladin released a heart-clenching scream before gritting his teeth, returning to his sobs and began to process of letting her go.

The last time he walked away from her, he felt relief.

But now, all he felt was pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry! Lance won't be like this forever!
> 
> Anyways, sorry for posting this chapter so late into the month. I spent most of the month planning out the chapter and this entire week, construction is being done in the apartment above me and not only are they causing cracks in my house but they have been making so much noise that I can't concentrate on writing. Not only that, I would get so angry that once they were finally done for the day, I just collapsed from mental and emotional exhaustion and put off finishing the chapter day after day. However, I did make an active effort to finish before this upcoming Sunday (It's my b-day and my mom wants me to relax)
> 
> Also, I just created a new Twitter account (makorragal312) for my writing so I can interact with you guys! Whether it be answering questions about the story, updating you guys on fic progress, or just chatting about Klance and ships, feel free to stop by!
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! See you soon and stay safe!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! We made it to Chapter 12!
> 
> Onto the chapter!

Shiro tapped his foot impatiently as he stood alone in the Garrison hangar, waiting for the paladins to return. Even though they were able to escape from Oriande in time thanks to the wormhole, that didn't make him any less concerned. He knew that the team was going to feel defeated at the fact that they weren't able to stop Honerva, which was all the more reason that they regroup and come up with a new strategy. Just as he was thinking of a plan, he heard the hangar doors open. He quickly raised his head and watched the Lions slowly enter the room. Once they were all accounted for, they landed and made their place on the floor, their yellow eyes finally turning dim. One by one, the paladins exited the Lions, walking onto the deck and tiredly tugging off their helmets as Shiro approached them.

"Are you guys alright?" Shiro asked, concerned laced in his voice as the paladins raised their heads at his voice. Keith grazed some of his hair back with one of his hands before responding.

"We're okay, but-" Keith could barely finish his sentence before Allura interrupted.

"But Honerva got away. And we couldn't even stop her." she recounted angrily. Shiro looked at the princess with pity. He knew how much she wanted to stop Honerva and make her pay for everything she's done, so he wasn't really surprised at her reaction.

"Yeah, and those robeasts definitely didn't help." Pidge added on. Everyone unconsciously lowered their heads as they recounted the events of Oriande. How Honerva had sacrificed the White Lion. The return of Lotor, as far as they knew, and his Sincline. Oriande's destruction. After a few more moments of silence, Shiro raised his head and addressed the group.

"That's all the more reason why we need to stop her. We'll regroup and talk about what happened and what to do going forward later." The Atlas captain stated. Hunk raised his arms above his head as he stretched.

"Sounds good to me." Hunk sighed, a small smile creeping on his face at the thought of taking a break. The rest of the team nodded in agreement as they began to walk away from the Lions, exiting the deck as they decided to go ahead and change. Shiro was just about to follow behind before he halted his steps, something telling him to look behind him. Sure enough, Lance was still standing in place, not having even moved an inch. Shiro furrowed his brows as he looked the red paladin's face. His usually bright blue eyes were devoid of light, instead holding sadness and regret.

"Lance?" Shiro called out gently, trying not to scare the young man. Lance's eyes widened slightly at the call of his name, turning his head to meet Shiro's concerned gaze. He looked at his friend for a second before lowering his gaze to the floor. Shiro watched as the boy exhaled heavily through his nose before looking back up at him.

_Okay_ , his eyes read.

He awkwardly stuffed his hands into his pockets and began walking towards the exit, Shiro by his side. The next several steps out of the deck were laced in silence, the only sounds penetrating the air being their very footsteps. The sounds of the team being drowned out as they were walked a few feet in front of them. Shiro turned his head slightly to look at the red paladin, who didn't look that much different from before. He could make out the bags that plagued his eyes, showing nothing but exhaustion as if he hadn't slept. He could also see his his eyes held a tint of pink within them. The only thing missing were the tear streaks from a few days ago.

* * *

_"Lance?"_

_Shiro knocked on the door to Lance's room firmly a couple more times, his concern growing for the boy the longer he remained unanswered. He had been contacting Lance to see how he was doing in his recovery, but to no avail. He had merely assumed he was caught up with getting quality sleep in an actual bed so he left him alone. That is, until he got a message from Veronica saying that Lance hadn't been seen around the Garrison for days and she was getting worried, so he went to look around and finally found himself here._

_"Lance, it's Shiro. Can you hear me?" Once again, the former paladin was met with silence. With a heavy sigh, he took out his Garrison ID and scanned it onto the keypad of Lance's room. It proceeded to ask for his code and he quickly tapped it in. After what seemed like forever, the door opened._

_Cautiously, Shiro stepped inside, immediately being met with darkness as the door closed behind him. Despite the darkness that plagued the room, he was able to make out some parts of the room and used that to try and pinpoint a light switch. It wasn't long before Shiro felt a deafening crack underneath his foot. He looked down and lifted his foot from the ground, only to be greeted with pieces of shattered glass. His eyes shifted only an inch to see a picture frame laying next to it. He gently lifted the frame by its leg before wiping off any stray glass he found with the sleeve of his uniform. Once he was sure that the glass was off, he carefully flipped it over, his heart dropping as he looked upon the photo._

_It was of Lance and Allura, presumably during their first date back on Earth. Despite the fragments of glass still sealed within the frame, he was able to make note of how Lance stood next to her, his signature smile and playful wink adorning his face in an attempt to look laid-back and cool. But knowing what he knew now, it was almost as if the captain can see the anxiety and confusion behind his face. And if Allura's appearance demonstrated anything, it was that she was probably none the wiser, or at least caught a hint but made a point not to mention. it for Lance's sake._

_And just as he finished his thought, a sniffle permeated the air as the former paladin jumped at the sound and almost dropped the frame in the process. He lifted his head towards the sound and finally saw the boy he was looking for. He was curled up against the wall, legs curled up into his chest as he laid his head within them. Shiro's heart clenched at the sight, his mind putting two and two together. Not taking his eyes off of the quiet boy, he laid the broken frame gently on the bed before slowly walking towards him, giving Lance plenty of time to react. He slowly kneeled next to him, placing his hand firmly yet softly on Lance's shoulder as he shook him._

_"Lance." Shiro spoke quietly._

_He felt the boy tense slightly underneath his hand. He heard him moan before the red paladin slowly lifted his head, finally revealing his face. The streaks of tears that adorned his face were somewhat dry, but still damp nonetheless. His eyes were puffy like he had cried for hours. But above all else, he just looked broken and defeated. And that was enough to make Shiro's heart clench. ._

_"You told her." Shiro inquired in a matter-of-fact tone. Lance nodded slowly._

_"I'm not him." Shiro's brows furrowed in confusion. Lance's shoulders slowly begun to bounce up and down as he was trying to suppress any potential cries from erupting from his throat._

_"I'm not him, Shiro." Lance hiccuped, sniffling some more. Lance scooted closer towards him, moving his hand to grip his other shoulder as he wrapped his arm around him. He couldn't tell if Lance was delirious from having cried so much or if he was actually trying to tell him something important about what happened between him and Allura, but he knew that he couldn't leave him like this._

_"Lance, I don't und-" Before he could finish his sentence, Lance clenched his eyes shut, the newfound tears finally streaming down his cheeks. His shoulders immediately seized up as he inhaled deeply._

_"I'm not him." Lance squeaked out, sobs finally overtaking him as he began to cry once more. Without hesitation, Shiro pulled the sobbing paladin into his chest, his other hand planting itself against his cheek in an attempt to keep him there as he cried. The Atlas captain got up from his knee and sat on the floor as his back hit the wall. He could feel tears attempting to build up as he felt Lance wail against his chest, his fist clenching his uniform as if he was worried that he was going to disappear. A part of him couldn't help but to feel responsible for this situation. When he advised for Lance to be honest with Allura about his situation, he expected him to be sad and heartbroken but he thought that it would give Lance a good starting point in figuring out who he was and what he wanted. He didn't anticipate for him to be curled up beside himself in the confines of his room, tears running down his sullen cheeks as he looked as if his whole world had been turned upside down. Shiro had no clue what happened between him and Allura and he wanted to get to the bottom of it, but that had to wait. In this moment, he needed to be what he wasn't able to be post-mortem: PRESENT._

_Shiro inhaled deeply before he rubbed Lance's back in comfort, slowly beginning to rock back and forth but not enough to be noticeable. The red paladin must have anyway as he only gripped him tighter and sobbed even harder._

_"Don't worry. I'm here, Lance." Shiro whispered reassuringly. Lance pushed his head further into his uniform as Shiro removed his hand from Lance's face to pull the boy closer._

_"I'm here."_

* * *

Shiro was suddenly snapped out of the memory as he felt vibrations coming from his pocket. He took the phone out of his pocket and checked over the message. Apparently, Sam wanted him to come by and confirm that the Atlas systems were good to go in the event of another fight. The captain let out a heavy sigh at the thought. That wasn't to say that he didn't want to swing by nor that he didn't want to see Sam. But going down to the control room meant only one thing.

_Slav_ , he thought. He inhaled deeply as he tried to mentally prepare himself for what was to come once he went down there. He looked back at Lance and he couldn't help but to feel bad. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave him alone like this, but he had trust that the other paladins would be there to make sure he was okay.

"Lance?" Shiro called out lightly, stopping in his tracks. Lance halted his own steps as he looked up at Shiro slightly, making an effort not to raise his head all the way up.

"Something came up that I need to go check on, so I'm gonna have to leave. Will you be okay?" he asked carefully. Lance gave him a nod, raising his hand to pat Shiro's arm in silent approval.

_You're good, man._

A small smile made its way on Shiro's face as he placed his hand atop Lance's head, ruffling his brown hair. He couldn't help but to make note of the several knots hidden within his locks as he knew Lance always made self-care a priority. But he decided to keep that to himself.

"Don't forget. Something happens, you call me." And with that, Shiro walked away from the boy down the opposite hallway, a contrast of how Lance remained only to walk the rest of the way straight ahead. The red paladin kept his eyes on his friend until he was out of eyeshot. He knew that Shiro meant what he said and that he wasn't just saying that for the sake of saying it. If anything, Shiro has went above and beyond in staying by his side. But there was always that small part of him waiting for him to have had enough of taking care of him. Lance exhaled deeply through his nose as he continued to walk down the hallway towards the room. For the first time in what felt like ages, he finally decided to raise his head up and look ahead.

That was his first mistake.

In some sick twist of Deja Vu, there stood Keith and Allura in front of their respective locker rooms. The only difference was that instead of the princess screaming her head off at the black paladin, they were standing apart near their respective doorways. Keith looked rather relaxed, his arms and legs crossed against the wall. Allura, however, looked pretty tense. She was wringing her hands as her shoulders were hunched over.

_God, please_.

A wave of emotions started to rush through Lance, and it wasn't the good kind. The feelings of sadness and betrayal began to bubble within the pit of Lance's stomach, almost making him nauseous. He felt the familiar lump in his throat begin to grow and the sting of tears growing behind his eyes, but he wouldn't allow himself to feel them. He simply inhaled deeply, held his breath, and tried to make his way in the room without making eye contact.

Allura took her eyes off her hands and raised her head as she heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw Lance, not realizing he had been trailing so far behind them. She never really had a chance to talk to him since their conversation in the hospital room and the fact that he hadn't been seen anywhere around the Garrison since then. She truly wanted to talk to him again and let him know how much he meant to her, but never really got the chance. But now might be it. Gathering her courage, she straightened up and clasped her hands in front of her.

"Lance, ar-"

She never got the chance to finish as he walked past her, not even acknowledging her as he quickly paced into the locker room. No acknowledgement. No eye contact. Just complete and utter distance. The princess was dumbfounded. She knew that she had hurt him terribly, but was it so bad that he couldn't even look at her? Maybe she deserved it, but it still hurt. She turned her head to look at Keith, still perched up against the wall. His face was scrunched and a brow was raised in sheer confusion. His eyes met hers as he looked at her with confusion. He didn't bother responding as he shrugged slightly and entered the room after him. Defeated, the princess could only lower her head and enter her respective chamber.

* * *

Once again, Lance had gotten his hopes up.

Usually when someone is going through something hard and they go to take a shower, they usually come out afterwards feeling some of the weight had been washed off with every sud and drip of water that flowed into the drain.

But not this time.

He had entered the changing room, shredding his body of his armor as he let the pieces land harshly on the floor without any regard of its dexterity with every step he took towards the shower. He clawed his body suit off of him and flung it away from him as he finally made his way into his stall, turning on the faucet and letting the hot water run over him. Once the first droplets of water hit his head and dampened his hair, he finally released the hold he had on his breath, letting the newfound oxygen fill his lungs as he placed his arm on the wall in front of him before leaning into it.

Knowing now that he was alone, he allowed his body to tremble as he breathed heavily. lis lip quivering as he tried to prevent himself from going into yet another sobbing episode. He was surprised he held out as long as he did being around Allura. Today had been the first time he had actually been around her since...the incident. Since then, he had been cooped up in his room, crying himself into several stupors and it apparently got bad enough that Shiro had to come looking for him. He knew that eventually he had to come back around her despite everything, but that didn't make things any easier, especially if he mentioned the fact that they're both paladins and have to work together in a giant robot comprised of mechanical lions. And on his first day back around her, he had to see and hear her act dangerously and recklessly on Oriande, even going as far as to try to go after her.

The red paladin shook his head, droplets of water being flung away from his face as he tried to stop recounting today's events and just everything regarding Allura. He already had his time to cry and sob and he wasn't going to allow himself to do it again even though deep down it was going to happen more than once. He pushed himself away from the wall to be under the faucet more and catch more of the hot water that would hopefully burn away these bad thoughts. Using both hands, he smoothed his hair back and relished in the streams.

Thirty minutes had passed since Lance finished his shower and he still felt dirty, his skin still feeling plagued with hurt. He ran his hand through his still slightly damp hair as he sat on the bench in the changing room, clad in most of his uniform with the exception of his jacket and a towel now on top of his head. He would've been out of the room much sooner if the rest of the team weren't chatting it up outside of the locker room. He already knew he didn't want to face Allura, but he really didn't want to deal with the others. He didn't want to hear their questions of why he was so distant or their jokes about him and Allura. He just wanted to be alone. So when he was about to retrieve his armor and head out the door, he heard Hunk and Pidge talking to Allura and immediately retreated into the deeper part of the room behind several lockers. The red paladin placed his face in his hands, trying to drown out all of the noise around him as he longed for solitude. This was what he needed: to be alone. It's not as though he wasn't used to it.

"They're gone, you know."

Lance widened his eyes and immediately lifted his head out of his hands and looked up to the sound of the voice. It was Keith, hair partially drenched, towel around his neck, and clad only in his uniform pants and boots. Lance was making an active effort not to focus in on his chest, but he did notice he was holding both of their paladin armor underneath one of his arms. Lance let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as his eyes went back to their regular size.

"W-what are you still doing here?" Lance asked calmly. Keith walked into the section as he placed their armor on the bench next to Lance before walking to his locker.

"Well for starters, I'm still getting dressed and I went to pick up my armor. That is, until I saw yours scattered all over the floor and picked that up, too." Keith answered nonchalantly. Lance lowered his gaze to his newly clasped hands in embarrassment and guilt.

_Once again, Lance. Always the nuisance_.

"Oh. I'm sorry, man." Lance apologized quietly. He was too busy looking down that he didn't notice the black paladin shaking his head at his apology.

"It's fine. Nothing I couldn't handle. Also, you left the water running in your stall but I took care of that, too."

"Sor-"

"Lance, I told you it's fine. I honestly don't mind." Keith replied reassuringly, pulling the towel from around his neck to dry his hair further. Lance rubbed his arm awkwardly. All this time he thought he was by himself in the room and yet Keith was here the entire time. He would be lying to himself if a part of him said that he wasn't the least bit relieved that he was still in the room, but it couldn't have been during a worst time. After all, he was kinda in the situation he was in because of all of the emotions he felt towards the half-Galra. He wasn't putting blame on him though, simply a mere acknowledgement. Keith shifted his gaze towards Lance as he finished drying up the rest of his hair. He could tell he was exhausted and drained just from the way he was hunched over. Anyone else would just brush it off as exhaustion from fighting but Keith knew that wasn't the case. During the team meeting before they went to Oriande, he was so distant and closed off and would only speak when spoken to. And when he did it was only a couple of words. At first he couldn't put a finger on what could've happened to make him so despondent, but after seeing him completely ignore Allura, he was slowly but surely starting to get a pretty good idea. He wanted to question him and see what was wrong, but he decided against it. Given his behavior, he might not want to talk about it just yet and pushing him to tell him would probably upset him further so he just left it alone. But that didn't mean he didn't hate it.

He didn't want to remain silent.

He didn't want Lance to be beside himself like this.

He didn't want Lance to think that he had no one to turn to.

But what could he do?

Whatever the happened between him and Allura was obviously still fresh, so it may not even be the right time to even go up to him. Keith sighed inwardly as he continued to get dressed.

Lance turned his head back towards Keith, expecting the leader to be looking down on him. Instead, he was met with the black paladin putting on the rest of his clothes. His blue eyes immediately became focused on Keith's back muscles and how they pulsed with every movement he made. How pronounced his biceps were. And even though his back was towards him, he could only imagine what his chest and stomach looked like. Lance could feel the heat building up in the back of his neck as Keith pulled his black tank top over his head. In an instance, the familiar heat began to build up in Lance's stomach as he quickly turned around, focusing his eyes on the floor below him. Was he crazy? He just had his heart broken and now he's staring at Keith's body. Granted, it was a good, well-built body but that didn't make it feel any less ridiculous to him.

Lance placed a hand over his eyes, sighing inwardly as to not alarm the man behind him. He couldn't be acting like this. Allura broke his heart. He's angry, hurt, sad and every other negative emotion under the sun. Should he really be thinking about someone else this quickly? Wouldn't that make him no better than Allura? But then again, he would never do what she did in the first place. And it wasn't as if they were together. He didn't confess his love for her and end up becoming her boyfriend. But that didn't change how betrayed he felt.

And just like that, Lance found himself going around in circles.

_Damn it._

The silence between the two was deafening, the only sounds in the air being fabric being put upon skin and a foot tapping the moist ground beneath them. Words that were stuck in thoughts and throats wanted to be released in the open.

Truths wanting to be told.

Advice wanting to be given.

Comfort wanting to be requested.

But in the end, nothing was said.

* * *

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

Lance didn't have to lift his head to know that Pidge and Hunk were staring at him. Pidge had her arms crossed and looked concerned, but mostly annoyed. Hunk, on the other hand, looked worried as he kept rubbing his forearm nervously. Lance gave a humorless chuckle as he continued to move his fork around in the pasta that laid on his tray.

"Good to see you, too." he replied sarcastically. Pidge firmly slammed her hands on the table as she pointed her finger at him.

"Don't give me that! You've been avoiding us for days and haven't even bothered talking to us and-" Pidge didn't get the chance to complete her sentence as Lance raised his head slightly to meet her eyes. The green paladin didn't think that it was possible, but Lance looked more pissed off than her! That alone was enough for her to back off. Pidge sighed as she took a seat across from the red paladin, Hunk sitting right beside her.

"Sorry." Lance nodded as he took a bite of his food, chewing slowly. Hunk and Pidge shared a look before turning their eyes back towards their friend.

"So..." Hunk started nervously, "How are you feeling, man?" Lance simply shrugged, not having the energy to come up with a verbal response.

"Look, man. We're worried about you! You're released from ICU, disappear for days, and once you come back around you don't talk to anybody! We just want to know what's wrong!" Hunk spoke rapidly. Lance sighed as he swallowed.

_You guys? Worried? Please..._

"You guys were worried about me?" Lance asked in a monotone voice. He would've found the offended looks on his friends' faces hysterical if he wasn't already feeling so numb. Feeling a sense of annoyance begin to bubble up in him, he unconsciously began to stab his pasta with his plastic fork.

"Uh, yeah! Us, Keith, Allura-" Pidge started, but not before Lance shook his head, raising his finger in the air.

"Nope. No, she doesn't." Lance stated flatly, his fork moving quicker. "I don't think she ever did." Pidge and Hunk couldn't help but to widen their eyes in utter disbelief. Lance "I'm crazy in love with the princess" McClain thinking that Allura never cared about him? To say the both of them were disturbed was an understatement.

"What the f-!" Pidge began to exclaim before Hunk cut her off.

"Of course, she does! Dude, you're really starting to freak me out! Of course she cares about you!" Hunk said reassuringly.

**_Thud_ **

Lance couldn't contain his emotions anymore as he finally slammed his fork onto the table, having enough force to make his tray and cup bounce and to have his friends jump at the sound. The two of them couldn't help but to recoil at Lance's distressed yet furious gaze as he quickly leaned in towards them.

"If she really cared, she would've-!" Lance began to yell before shutting his eyes tightly, clenching his fist in an attempt to regain control of his anger. It was a good thing that they happened to be the only ones in the cafeteria so late in the evening. He slowly sat back down into his seat as he inhaled and exhaled violently through his nose before starting over.

"If she really cared, she would've given me the courtesy to actually acknowledge my feelings." Lance whispered through gritted teeth, clasping his hands together tightly. After making sure he wasn't going to snap at them again, Hunk and Pidge slowly moved back to their original positions at the table, confused as ever.

"What happened between you and Allura?" Hunk asked cautiously. Lance placed his head against his clasped hands, dreading the fact that he now had to relieve this nightmare that never seemed to end. Lance let out another chuckle deprived of humor or life.

"What happened was that you were right." he simply stated.

"Right about-?"

"About-" Lance paused as he felt his stomach begin to turn. The red paladin was convinced that the universe wanted nothing more than to see him suffer. He pushed the tray away from him as he got up from his seat, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You okay, buddy? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Hunk asked worriedly, rising quickly from his seat. Lance held out his hand in front of him, signaling for him to stop.

"Bathroom. Be right back." he replied quickly before speed walking out of the cafeteria. When it came evening time at the Garrison, the hallways were almost always empty, so the red paladin had easy access to the bathroom without bumping into anybody and embarrassing himself. After what seemed like forever, he rushed inside and stopped in front of the sinks. He gripped it tightly as he gasped out, trying to get his stomach to not turn on him and make him vomit. He didn't expect that conversation to be so horrible. He knew having to tell Hunk and Pidge everything would be a hassle, but he didn't see himself snapping at them and almost vomiting. He'd be sure to apologize to them properly once this whole ordeal with Allura was over but that was the last thing on his mind at this very moment.

He reached out his hand to turn on the cold water and splashed the liquid onto his face repeatedly, hoping the freezing temperature of the water would get the churning feeling in his body to cease enough to get through this conversation. He made sure to splash his face a few times before deciding it was enough, turning off the faucet and focusing on his breathing. The churning sensation seemed to dim just a little due to the cold water so that seemed to be a good sign. Lance raised his head to gaze into the mirror, looking at himself. He tried to focus on what to do next and figure out what to say to his friends, but all he could hear was their voices.

_Mocking him over Allura_

_Joking about Lotor and Allura_

Lance slapped his hands over his cheeks, halting his current train of thought. He wasn't gonna go there. All he needed was a few more of those before he broke into tears again and he would not let that happen. What was he expecting honestly? For them to actually acknowledge his problems? Seemed like a far fetched idea considering they didn't seem to realize that he fucking died in space during the mission at the Omega Shield. That sad fact aside, he knew what needed to be done now. He had to be honest and the time seemed to be now, which wasn't ideal. After taking a deep breath, he grabbed a paper towel and dried his hands quickly before tossing it away, making his way towards the door. As he walked back to the cafeteria, he thought about what he could possibly say.

_"Sorry for bailing on you guys. I just got my heart broken."_

_"Don't worry guys! I wasn't avoiding you, I was avoiding everyone!"_

_"Sorry for ghosting, but did you know that Allura was completely aware of my feelings for her but she still decided to go ahead and choose Lotor and now all this time later she's making me her rebound?"_

"Lance."

The red paladin was snapped out of his anxious stupor as he was faced with the person he had been trying to avoid the most. There she stood, standing in front of the table with a nervous yet firm expression on her face. He looked past her to see Hunk and Pidge, looking at him almost in horror. The feeling of nausea seemed to return along with his inner tidal wave of betrayal and sadness.

"I didn't think you would be back so quickly." the princess spoke nervously. Lance hardened his face as slowly began to walk past her towards the table, doing his best not to make eye contact.

"Needed to wash something off. I'm actually about to tell them something important, so-" It was now Lance's turn to be cut off as Pidge immediately shook her head, attempting to shake the horrified expression off her face.

"T-there's no need, Lance. Allura told us." she revealed reluctantly. Lance's furrowed his brows at the statement. Not only was his heart broken, but now his own agency had been swiped away from him, too. He wanted to glare at Allura but he honestly just wanted to get out of here.

"Oh really?" he asked skeptically. "What did she say?" The green and yellow paladin kept exchanging nervous glances with each other, almost as if they were worried Lance was going to evaporate them with his glare the moment they started talking. This confused the red paladin considering the truth was practically what he was implying. And it honestly started to bug him.

"What?" Hunk finally broke the silence.

"That she kissed Lotor."

If Lance thought he felt nauseous before, he definitely did now. Every single fiber in his being felt like vomiting until his organs came out. The feeling of betrayal and sadness that he felt for the last couple of days came crashing back, but not as hard as the emotion that now took center stage: anger. Lance clenched his fists as the tears he tried so hard to suppress began to brim at his eyes. And how could they not? The woman he was in love with not only ignored his feelings and chose someone else. This woman went ahead and kissed that other person and then had the audacity to turn around and kiss HIM. Lance violently turned his head towards the Altean, venom taking its place in his eyes as he looked at her. If he wasn't so angry, he might've felt bad for scaring her so much that she was practically retreating into herself from his gaze, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Okay! So not only did you choose him after knowing of my feelings, but you kiss him, too?!" Lance all but exclaimed. Allura held her hands out in front of her, trying to keep distance between them.

"Lance! I know you're hurt, but-"

"BUT WHAT?! YOU JUST MISSED LOTOR SO BADLY YOU HAD TO KISS ME, TOO?!" Lance screeched, making the princess turn her head away from him from how loud he was. He could've sworn he heard Hunk and Pidge let out a unanimous "What?!" behind them.

"I'M NOT YOUR REBOUND, ALLURA!" And with that, Lance quickly stomped out of the cafeteria, not caring where he was going as long as he was away from her. He didn't care that he left her alone to be scared of him. He didn't care that Hunk and Pidge were left dazed and confused looking over a weeping princess.

He was done.

* * *

"Is something on your mind?"

"You could say that."

Keith couldn't help but to sigh heavily. He and Romelle had just made their way out of the Garrison training room as they were both headed to Romelle's room. They had spent the last hour playing around with Kosmo so that the space wolf could stretch his legs and burn some energy. Once he was satisfied, Kosmo didn't hesitate to teleport himself back to Keith's room much to their amusement. And being who he was, Keith decided to walk Romelle back to her room. They had been talking about other things before now but the black paladin had gotten strangely quiet, which prompted the Altean to snap him out of it.

"Well, what happened?" she asked, concern laced in her voice. "Kosmo didn't eat your blade, did her?" Keith rolled his eyes at her before poking the side of her head with his finger, much to her chagrin.

"I'm just gonna act like I didn't hear you ask that." Keith teased. "I'm just worried about Lance." Romelle tilted her head in confusion.

"Pointy Chin? What's wrong with him?" she asked. Like he said before, Keith had no idea what happened to make Lance so upset, but he knew better than to speculate and open his mouth when he didn't have the full story. So it was best if he just didn't say too much.

"I don't know. But he isn't acting like himself and the team and I are getting worried." he answered honestly. Romelle seemed to be satisfied with the answer as she hummed in acknowledgement to Keith's statement. Sensing Keith's concern, she placed her hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find a way to help." she reassured, sending Keith a comforting smile. Keith gave her a small smile back. Ever since he found her, the more time they spent together the more she felt like a younger sister to him. And it was times like these where her optimism was appreciated.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" The unexpected shout stopped Keith and Romelle in their tracks. Without hesitation, Keith pulled Romelle behind him and placed a hand on the handle of his blade, ready to bring it out at a moment's notice should the voice attempt to attack them. But instead of an intruder, they were met with a furious Lance and an upset Allura right on his tail.

"Lance! Please just listen to me!" Allura begged. Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Lance ignored, not even acknowledging Keith and Romelle as he zoomed past them towards the other end of the hallway. The two of them simultaneously turned their heads towards Allura, who currently had her head in her hand with tears streaming down her face. Still in shock, the two of them then turned their heads towards each other. And as if they read each others mind, they talked over each other.

"I'll go talk to her."

"I'll go follow Lance." While Keith ran the opposite direction to catch up with Lance, Romelle walked down the same path to reach Allura. She slowly placed her hand on the small of the princess' back, letting her know that she was there. It didn't take long for the princess to raise her head and look at Romelle.

"What the quiznak happened with you two?" Romelle whispered-yell, leading her to a separate corridor where they were out of earshot from any prying ears.

"I messed up, Romelle! I messed up everything!" Allura cried. Romelle placed her hands on Allura's shoulders as she tried to calm her down.

"What happened?" she emphasized. Allura placed her head in her hands as she tried to gain her bearings. If she wanted to get some form of a coherent sentence out, she had to pull it together at least for a little bit. Once she got her sobs under control, she started to explain everything. She was only able to mention Lance and how she found out he had feelings for her before Romelle interjected.

"Wait, but if he had feelings for you and you didn't feel the same way, why is he so angry?" she asked angrily. She understood why Lance was upset, but that didn't give him the right to ignore her in her eyes. Allura sighed before revealing the heavy truth.

"Because I kissed Lotor." In an instant, Romelle's face dropped as the color in her face began to pale.

"Y-you what?"

"Yes. Instead of telling him the truth, I went ahead and kissed Lotor." Allura confirmed sadly. Romelle could only shake her head as she ran her hands through her hair.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Romelle screamed in horror. Allura kissing Lotor? The same Lotor that was responsible for her family's death and the loss of her people? She practically forgot everything between Allura and Lance for just a moment as her disgust and shock took over.

"How could you, Allura?" Romelle shouted. "Never mind you broke Pointy Chin's heart, but you did it with that monster?!" Allura reached out to grab her hands only for the other Altean to pull them away just as quickly, turning her back on her as she tried to come to grips on everything that was just laid out on the table, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Romelle, I promise you! When I did it, I had no idea he did what he did! I honestly thought he was this kind, intelligent, decent man who meant well with his intentions! He deceived all of us!" the princess begged. Romelle shook her head and inhaled deeply before turning back towards her. Her pain and confusion could wait. There was a guy who had his heart ripped out and the man she considered her big brother was now chasing after him.

"Okay, never mind what he did to my family. If you never knew about his feelings, I could give you the benefit of the doubt. But you did know, and now he's hurting! You hurt the both of you!" Romelle scolded. Allura lowered her head in shame.

"I know." she admitted. "And I want to fix it." Romelle looked at the princess with pity. Given everything that had just been revealed, she didn't know if that would even be possible.

"Honestly, I don't think it can." Romelle turned around to head out the corridor, but not before stopping.

"Get some rest, princess. You might need it." she suggested as she made her way out, leaving her friend behind. Romelle paced quickly out the corridor back into the main hallway as she placed her hands over her mouth, trying to shakily take deep breaths as she tried to suppress her tears. Her heart hurt for Allura, truly it did. But she needed to realize the consequence of her actions and how much it hurt not only the guy she cared about, but herself as well. As she tried to keep it together and shake off the shock and confusion, she turned her head and widened her eyes when she saw who was standing there, their arms crossed as they leaned against the wall. She held her hands close to her chest as she took a deep breath and spoke to them.

"How much did you hear?" she asked cautiously. Keith shifted his purple pupils towards her as he tightened his grip on the sleeve of his uniform in anger. As he recounted the words of truth that were just exchanged, everything fell into place for him.

"Everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's only fair that I apologize for posting this as late as it is. I usually always make it a point to post 1-2 chapters a month for this series, but I couldn't follow through on my goal this time. Not only was there still construction going on above my head but even when it was finally over, I just started feeling off the last couple of weeks which led me to only typing a couple of sentences before stopping, which definitely played a role in this.
> 
> But beside all that, I really did try my best to make good on this chapter and make it a worthwhile read like my other chapters so I sincerely hope you guys enjoy. Thank you guys so much for your feedback and taking the time to read my story and I can't wait to see you guys in the next chapter! 
> 
> XOX


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